


So Close to the Light

by The Neon Gang (clgfanfic)



Series: Magnificent Seven (TV) - ATF Karaoke AU [1]
Category: The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: ATF Karaoke AU, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Song Lyrics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-10
Updated: 2014-01-10
Packaged: 2018-01-08 06:52:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1129622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clgfanfic/pseuds/The%20Neon%20Gang
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chris and Vin discover their feeling for each other and deal with the bad guys at the same time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	So Close to the Light

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome! This is the ATF M7 Karaoke AU and it's based on Mog's wonderful ATF Denver AU. Thank you, Mog, for creating the ATF Denver AU, and for allowing us to come along and play in it.
> 
> I have always wished that we lived in a musical, because then we'd all know how to dance, and how to sing, and we could use both to express our feelings – you know, breaking into song and dance in the middle of a public space, or whenever the spirit moved you – which just seems oh so perfectly romantic… and silly. But hey, we like romantic, and silly. And, in the end, everyone would (of course) end up living happily ever after with the one they love, whoever that may be. I mean, come on, it's what Disney's been selling for years, right?
> 
> Well, given the obsession with Magnificent Seven, it didn't take very long to begin to imagine what it might be like if Team Seven found themselves living in a musical. But a warning is in order. So, here you go... Warning! The ATF Denver Karaoke AU is unabashedly and apologetically romantic. It is also totally unrealistic since everyone has an excellent, professional quality, singing voice. And, if it could have been worked it in, they are also excellent dancers as well.
> 
> Following Mog's example, anyone who wants to come and play in this sandbox is welcome to do so. And feel free to use it as a gen-, het- or slash-flavored AU. We only ask that you use the "facts" as presented in this story as canon for the AU. Also, since this is a "musical," a song must play a crucial role in the story resolution, either one that is heard or sung live and, please, include some or all of those lyrics! And remember the members of the Seven can break into song at any time during the plot where it seems appropriate, and no one will bat an eye (think any Gene Kelly musical ever made, or the TV series Seven Brides for Seven Brothers). See notes at the end for more info.

**10 May 2000, a Wednesday**

**1500 Hours**

 

          If she had to think back and come up with a specific date, she knew she'd find it difficult to remember _exactly_ when she realized Vin had fallen in love with Chris, but she knew it couldn't have been too long after she'd met the members of Team Seven in early 1998.  It seemed to her that they had just come that way:  a pair, Chris and Vin, two souls who had been made for each other.

What had surprised her more had been learning they were ATF agents.  They just didn't fit the stereotype of Feds she'd always had.  But then J. Watson's Saloon was close to the downtown federal building and she had been warned that there would be a lot of agents – of various stripes – stopping by after work for a drink.

          But Team Seven was special.  They were more… fun, even if Buck did drive her crazy sometimes; she knew he was harmless.  They had quickly become her first real friends in Denver, and she treasured each and every one of them as the wonderful people they were.

          She knew if Vin had been available, she might have tried to catch his eye, but he wasn't.  His heart belonged to Chris Larabee, even if the blond was as clueless as could be about that fact.  It was a shame, really.  If someone loved you like that, you ought to know about it so you could embrace it, enjoy it… revel in it.

          Still, Vin was most definitely taken, and by now she was glad about that, because it had meant she'd looked more closely at another man who had captured her attention for the past year.  Looked closely enough to see through the layers of masks he wore to finally recognize the real man who lay beneath.  But that left her with a dilemma.  How could _she_ be happy when one of her friends was so unhappy?

But how could she get the others to see how Vin felt about Chris?

She honestly didn't think they would care.  In fact, she suspected they would be happy for them – _if_ Chris finally saw the truth for himself and embraced it.

But maybe if the others knew about how Vin felt, they could help Chris to see the light.

          Oh, she was sure Chris cared about Vin, but he wasn't in love with the man.  Not yet, anyway.  She just needed to find a way to help him see what he was missing.

          And just how she might do that came to her one evening early last month, when Team Seven had dropped by after closing another case.  She'd just had the old jukebox she'd inherited, along with the bar, replaced with a new one – a state of the art monster that might look like an old fashioned jukebox, but was, in reality, a powerful computer with a huge multi-disk CD player.  It was a sweet system, and the guys who had installed it had also upgraded her speakers and sound system at the same time.  "The Saloon" as Team Seven called the place, had most definitely gone high-tech.

One of the technicians doing the software installation had asked her if she wanted him to include the professional karaoke package.  She'd had no idea what he was talking about at the time, but he explained it to her.  Her new system was also one of the best karaoke systems currently available on the market.  With something that looked to her like a laptop computer that was built into the device, she or someone else could access full stereo music tracks, as well as background accompaniments and choruses for any song on any pre-loaded CD.  With that, her new speaker system, a TV, and a wireless microphone, she had a state of the art, professional karaoke machine.  It could even be adjusted to play the music in a variety of different keys so songs usually sung by female sopranos could be easily tackled by baritone men.

She had been enchanted, but uncertain about how to actually put the device to use.  Unsure, that was, until Team Seven had descended upon the machine, eager to see what treasures were on the new "jukebox."  Before long the men were picking out their favorites, old and new, and singing along with them.

They all had fine voices, too, something else that had surprised her.  Oh, some were a little better than the others, but all of them were good enough that she thought they could have considered a musical career rather than one in federal law enforcement.  But it had been Vin who had caught her eye that night.  He'd picked a quiet love song, and had hung back in the shadows, singing along to the lyrics while he watched Chris enjoying himself at the table with the others.  The longing she had seen in his beautiful blue eyes had brought tears to her own.  If the others ever saw that, there would be no way for them _not_ to know how Vin felt about Chris.

And that's when it had hit her.  Why not inaugurate a karaoke night competition for the various law enforcement agencies housed in the federal building?  If she could get Vin up there on stage to sing, the others would figure it out, and then, maybe, they could help Chris come around.  And she was sure she would be able to get Vin to participate.  He had never refused her any sweetly delivered request.

Besides, she pulled in enough patrons from the Denver PD to include them as well, so there ought to be plenty of competitors.  She could charge each participant a small entrance fee and use that to purchase trophies for the winner and runners up.  The rest could to be donated to a worthwhile local charity.

The more she had thought about it, the more the idea appealed to her.  She just couldn't help but think Vin would out himself.  After all, she had already noticed he tended to pick love songs on the jukebox.  If he picked the same kinds of songs to sing, well, one of the others was sure to figure it out, and that, she hoped, would set the dominos falling.

She spent some time on Google, and made some phone calls to other bars in the area that also hosted karaoke nights, asking questions and gathering information until she felt confident she could do it herself.  And this coming Friday would be the night.

She had announced the competition two days ago, on Monday evening, with a huge banner and a stack of flyers that stated J. Watson's Saloon was kicking off its first karaoke night competition at the end of the month.  The bars closest to her that were also running karaoke competitions held them during the week, so she had decided to give Saturday nights a try.  The last Saturday of the month would kick off the first "I fought the law and the law won" karaoke competition for law enforcement officers and staff – federal, state and local.

She had been excited, and more than a little anxious as the after-work crowd had begun trickling in Monday night.  What if no one wanted to participate?

But she need not have worried.  As soon as the usual crowd began to gather, the rivalries had started up and, before the end of the night, she had seven agencies and over fifty competitors already registered, including six of her very own Team Seven!

She had been ecstatic.

Next, she'd had figure out a way to winnow down the competition to find a winner.  She had also decided an impartial panel was the best solution as far as judging, so Tuesday morning she had made some phone calls.

The panel would be made up of seven judges, all regular patrons and friends of hers.  They would include Mary Travis, who had reviewed J. Watson's for the _Denver Clarion_ , a local newspaper, right after Inez had taken it over.  And Tiny, a huge bear of a man who owned an equally large used bookstore a couple of blocks away.  Also Chanu Longknife, a professor of Native American Studies at the University of Denver who she had dated for a while.  The other four members of the panel would include two female employees of J. Watson's, and two off-duty firefighters from Station 12, which was right around the corner – one male, and one female.

With the panel in place, she had dumped the names of the competitors into a bowl on Tuesday afternoon and drew pairs to see who would compete against whom.  It would be single elimination.  When she was done, she realized that they would need _two_ nights to get through the first round, so, after talking to as many of the competitors as she could last night, it was decided that the competition would fall over Friday _and_ Saturday nights, back to back.  The following Saturday, the winners of the first round would compete to see who moved on to additional elimination rounds, which would continue until they reached a final round where the last two individuals would fight it out.

And, after her chat with Mary yesterday, she had decided that the extra money raised from the entrance fees would go to Quest Academy, an alternative school in Purgatorio that helped troubled and at risk students complete their high school educations.

Now all she had to do was wait for the big Friday night to arrive in a couple of weeks, and enjoy the fun.  That and find a way to make sure Chris Larabee's eyes were opened along the way…

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

**24 May 2000** **, two weeks later**

**1445 Hours**

 

          "Buck, you decided what song you're gonna do first?" JD asked as he returned to his desk with a fresh cup of coffee from the cantina.

          "Yep," the ladies' man replied, looking smug.

          "Well, what is it?"

          "Now that, kid, is a secret."

          "A secret?" JD replied, looking miffed.  "Why?"

          "Because what if I end up competing against you?"

          "Then you'll lose," was the younger man's immediate reply, prompting chuckles from the rest of the ATF team, all seated at their desks.

          "We'll just see about that!" was Wilmington's slightly huffy reply.

          "Fine, then I won't tell you what I decided to do either."

          "Good.  I don't want to know."

          "They already sound like they're back on the playground, don't they?" Nathan commented, shaking his head sadly.

          "Ah, then I guess you're going to tell us what you plan to do?" Josiah asked him.

          "Nope," was Jackson's reply before he grinned at his friend.

          "Not that it truly matters," Ezra interjected from his desk.  "After all, the odds of one of us having to compete against another team member is–"

          "About thirteen percent," JD supplied.

          Buck rolled his eyes.  Sometimes the kid was too smart for his own good.

          "And what are the odds of any of us actually winning?" Josiah asked their primary undercover agent.

          Standish smiled.  "And what makes you think that _any_ of us are expected to win?"

          "Because, if you're taking bets, then you know the odds," Buck supplied matter-of-factly.

          "I'll only say this much, gentlemen…  We are all considered long-shots as far as potential victors in this contest."

          "Long-shots?" JD repeated indignantly.

          "Very long," Standish clarified.

          Buck hrumphed and shook his head.  "Well, they just won't know what hit 'em then, will they?"

          "Wish we could've gotten Chris to do it, too," JD said, risking a quick glance in the direction of their boss' office.  "Better odds."

          Buck shook his head.  "Naw, Chris hasn't done anything like that since Sarah and Adam died.  Shame, too.  Man's got a nice voice, but his heart just isn't in it any more.  Was a time when he and I used to karaoke all the time, me for my date – you wouldn't believe it, it's like some kind of aphrodisiac – Chris just to embarrass Sarah with some sappy love song in public; sweetest thing you ever did see."

          Vin listened to the comment and sighed softly to himself, but he didn't look up, or join in the conversation.

          "You ladies plan on sitting there, gossiping like a bunch of old women for the rest of the day, or did you plan to actually get some work done before you left?" Larabee asked from the doorway to his office, but before he could say anything more, the phone on his desk rang.

          The others mumbled a variety of responses that ranged from apologies to profanities, but they all turned back to their work, each one wondering what the others might be planning to sing the next night.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

**1600 Hours**

 

          "Alejandro Salazar," Chris said a little more than an hour later.  He and the other members of Team Seven were seated around the oval table in their private conference room.

          Josiah nodded.  "Up and coming player on the Colombian political scene, and a member of the drug cartel if rumor has it right; the DEA's been after him for a couple of years now, but he's apparently a very careful man."

          Larabee nodded in reply.  "He's also a dead man."

          "Dead?  How?" Ezra asked, taken aback by the news.  "A rival?"

          "In a manner of speaking," Larabee agreed.  "He was at a fancy party in Miami when the caterers surprised everyone and opened fire with automatic weapons."

          "Ouch," Buck said.  "Maybe he didn't appreciate the pate?"

          Standish flashed the ladies' man a grin.

          "Gets worse," Chris cut in.  "The shooters took one of the guests with them when they left – a woman, Alysia Mylonas.  Rumor has it she was Salazar's most recent… love interest."

          "But she's something more?" Vin asked, picking up on the slight change in the man's voice.

          "Much more," Larabee confirmed, gratified as always by how quickly Vin picked up on things.  "Alysia Mylonas, also known as Lina Macario… Agent Lina Macario, DEA.  And they'd like her back."

          "Well, if the DEA put her in Salazar's organization, why don't they go get her back out?" JD asked, looking slightly confused.

          "Because it wasn't the DEA who put her in," Chris explained.  "It seems Agent Macario was on loan from the DEA… to the CIA."

"And if either the CIA or the DEA goes in after her, there's no possibility of deniability if the mission is… less than successful," Ezra concluded flatly.  God, he hated bureaucratic ass covering.

"But if one of Salazar's rivals grabbed her, why does anyone think she's even alive now?" Buck questioned.

"Not just any rival," Larabee said, scrubbing his fingers through his short blond hair.  "Marco Anzar."

"The Mexican weapons czar?" Nathan asked, surprised.  "Why would he care about Salazar, or his latest mistress?"

"Seems the CIA has been watching Salazar for a while now; he's been in contact with some Afghani warlords, ones that oversee the opium trade in the northern part of that country.  Apparently he offered to accept shipments from them to pass on to the US market."

"And what does Salazar have to provide in the exchange?" Ezra asked, already disliking the sound of it.

"Weapons."

"Which he'd be gettin' from Anzar," Buck said, connecting the dots.

Larabee nodded.

"But something obviously went wrong," Ezra concluded.  "Perhaps Mr. Anzar saw a way to… eliminate the middle-man?"

"In which case Anzar might have had Agent Marcario taken because he thought he knew who she was.  Salazar's mistress, I mean." Josiah speculated.  "To see what she knew about the deal Salazar had set up, who his contacts in Afghanistan were."

Chris nodded.  "Apparently that's what the CIA thinks, too.  She also knows the names of DEA agents in Colombia and some well-placed CIA operatives in Afghanistan."

"So now they need someone t' go get her back before she gives up those men?" Vin asked, a soft buzz in his gut telling him there was something more to all this, something he wasn't going to like.

Chris nodded again.  "CIA says Anzar and Marcario are here in Colorado.  They want us to get her back and if we can't to, uh, terminate with extreme prejudice."

"What–?" Ezra began, but Larabee held up his hand to stop the man's objections.

Chris met Vin's eyes.  "You okay with that?"

"Hell no, 'm not okay with that," Vin replied bluntly.  "Damn it, Chris, she's one 'a our own."

"Vin's right," Buck said, jumping into the budding argument.  "She isn't a gun runner, or a drug dealer, or a terrorist.  She's just somebody doin' their job."

"She knew the risks before she went undercover," Ezra added, his voice soft and understanding.  In another life it could have easily been him in Lina Marcario's place.

Tanner shot the undercover man a frustrated look.  "Not you bein' asked t' kill a fellow agent, Ezra."

"Those are the orders," Chris said, interrupting any reply Standish might have made.  He huffed out a sigh.  "Look, I don't like this any more than any of you, but that's what we're being asked to do."  He added quickly, "But _only_ if we can't get her out.  And if I was in her place, I'd want _us_ coming for me."  He turned slightly so he could look Vin straight in the eye again.  "You want to sit this one out, fine, I'll borrow Nick Sykes from Team Two, but I think she stands a better chance of getting out of this _alive_ if you're there with us."

"I'll think about it," Tanner said, standing and walking out of the room without a backward glance.

          Chris sighed, watching him go.  He'd known this would be hard for the man.  Vin Tanner had a code, and killing one of his own wasn't a part of it.  But he also knew the man understood orders, and he wouldn't want to let the rest of them go after Marcario alone.  There had to be more going on than he had been told, but he didn't have a clue what it might be.

          Ezra cleared his throat and asked, "So, where are they?"

          Chris blinked and forced his attention back to the rest of his men.  "They're not sure yet.  Seems Anzar uses a page from Saddam's book – never stays in the same place two days in a row.  There's another agent buried deep in Anzar's organization.  We're waiting to hear from him, or her, hopefully some time over the weekend, so be sure you're ready to go on a moment's notice."

          The agents all nodded, their minds already turning to what they needed to do in order to be ready.

          "And why were we picked for this… plum assignment?" Standish wanted to know.

          Larabee had been wondering the same thing, but he hadn't asked when Travis had called.  "Only thing that matters is that we were," he replied, then turned and headed out after Vin.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          Vin left the federal building, walking briskly toward the park.  When he reached it, he made his way to a small bench that had been placed under a cluster of three large oaks that were almost completely leafed out, and sat down.

          Several minutes later he heard the man approaching and, a few moments later, Chris sat down next to him on the bench.  Neither man said anything for a while.

"So, you make up your mind?" Larabee finally asked him.

          "Nope."

          Chris stared out at the people on the open lawn – women and small children mostly, or college students and their dogs – all blissfully unaware of the ugliness taking place around them.  Sometimes he envied them, and today was one of those times.  Ignorance _was_ bliss.  "Look, I know this feels wrong to you.  Hell, it feels wrong to me, too, but you know as well as I do they're not giving us the whole story.  We have our orders – like 'em or not.  I just need to know you'll be there for us when we need you."

          Vin turned his head to look at the blond, his expression half-angry, half-hurt.  "I'll be there for y', and the others," he snapped.  "But I can't tell y' I'll pull the trigger on her, Chris.  Just don't think I can do it."

          Chris nodded.  "Fair enough," he said, standing, his expression carefully neutral.

          "Y' gonna bring Sykes along?"

          Larabee thought for a moment, then shook his head, saying, "No.  If it comes down to that… we'll handle it ourselves."

          Vin's jaw muscles worked furiously, but he couldn't bring himself to say what he was thinking – that Larabee didn't need any more innocent blood on his hands.  Like it or not, it was _his_ job to pull the trigger.  God or nature had given him a skill, a gift some might say, and the Army had turned it into a well-honed weapon.  Now the ATF, or the DEA, or the goddamn CIA, was pointing that weapon at a fellow agent and it was his job to pull the trigger.

And he knew he'd do it, too… in order to spare Chris.

          "Some days the job sucks," Larabee said tiredly, then added in a lighter tone, "So, you still up for a little competition before we go do this?"

          Vin looked up at the man and allowed a small smile to lift the corners of his mouth.  "Hell, Larabee, 'm always up for that."

          "What are you going to sing?"

          "Need t' know, boss," Tanner told him, his smile widening a fraction.  "And you don't need t' know."

          Larabee shook his head and checked his watch.  "You ready to head back?  It's quittin' time."

          Vin thought for a moment, then nodded and stood.  "Reckon so," he said on a sigh.

          As they walked back to the building, Chris silently prayed they could get the woman out, that he could spare Vin the need to carry out the task they were asking him to do.  He just wished he thought he knew what the hell was really going on.  He decided he'd go over and talk to Travis on Saturday, privately, at the man's home.  He had to see if the AD could shed some more light on the situation.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

**26 May 2000, Friday night**

**1710 Hours**

 

          When Team Seven arrived at the Saloon, the first thing they did was check the large poster board that had been hung up on the wall near the entrance.  On it was the list of the competitors, who they would be competing against, and what order they would be appearing in.

Buck would be the first member of Team Seven to take the stage, in the third spot.  Ezra was in the ninth spot, Josiah the fourteenth, Nathan the sixteenth, JD the twenty-first, and Vin wouldn't have to perform until the second to the last spot, the twenty-sixth.  That put one man from Team Seven in each segment of round one of the competition, so three of them would be singing tonight, and three more tomorrow night.

Chris smiled as he watched his friends sizing up their competition, but his hand was in the pocket of his jacket, his fingers curled around his cell phone in case a location for Lina Marcario became available.  He hated to have to walk away from the competition – his fellow supervisory agents in other branches of the federal government would never let him hear the end of it – but they had a mission to complete.

          In groups of ten, the competitors went up to the expert Inez had found to come in and run the karaoke program for her.  She stayed close by, however, learning all she could so she could do it herself the next time, and she already knew there would be a next time.  Everyone was happy and excited, and they had brought family and friends with them to watch.  She was going to do triple her usual Friday night business.  And, since they would only get through fifteen pairs tonight, she was ensured that Saturday night would be just was lively.

          Who knew karaoke would be so popular?

          She grinned as she heard some of the selections being made by the officers and agents.  They definitely were in for an entertaining evening.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          Team Seven cheered loudly, JD and Vin banging their open palms on the tabletop as Buck took the stage.  The ladies' man's competition was a young Denver PD officer who had more confidence than singing ability.  His rendition of "Rocky Mountain High" was met by a lukewarm reaction from those listening, but a few of his fellow officers cheered loudly, making the man grin self-consciously.

Buck took the stage after the officer, dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans, a deep red T-shirt and well worn cowboy boots.  He grinned at his audience, then shielded his eyes and sought out one woman in particular:  Inez.

          As soon he began to sing, Inez heard a wave of laughter roll though the bar and had to hide a grin herself.  The song was so perfectly Buck Wilmington…

 

          _… She don't look back, she's not doin' nothin' wrong._

_Lord have mercy, baby's got her blue jeans on… **[1]**_

 

          When the notorious ladies' man finished his song the crowd erupted into applause, and even Inez had to admit that the man's voice was better than she'd expected.  The judges quickly rendered their verdict, and Buck Wilmington was passed on to the second round, which would be held a week from tomorrow night.  He practically strutted back to his seat that the table.

          As they continued to listen to the competition, Ezra leaned over closer to Chris and said, "I've been thinking…  I know someone who used to work for Anzar.  He left the business a few years ago, but I'm sure he still has family who are in Anzar's employ.  Perhaps he might be able to help us locate the man quicker than this other agent…"

          Larabee considered the possibilities for a moment.  "You think he'd be willing to help us?"

          Standish's gold tooth flashed.  "I believe he would do so in order to balance his ledger, yes."

          "How easy would it be to contact this guy?" Buck asked, having overheard the conversation.

          Ezra shrugged slightly and grinned.  "As easy as… helping a man escape from prison?"[2]

          Both Buck and Chris snorted in reply to the comment.  "If you think you can make contact and it'll be safe for us, and for the informant, go for it," Larabee told him.

          Ezra nodded, already making plans on how to proceed.

          "Hey, Ez, better get ready," JD said, interrupting the undercover man's train of thought, "you're up next."

          As the ninth pair of contenders took to the "stage" – actually the raised platform where an occasional live band performed for the dancers on the small dance floor – the rest of the crowd quieted.  It appeared the competition might be fierce.

Ezra appeared calm and self-assured.  His competitor, a petite African-American from the Marshal's service, was equally confident.

          She went first, doing justice to Whitney Huston's version of "I Will Always Love You."  The crowd cheered loudly, and the other members of the Marshal's team stamped their feet in approval.  Then it was Ezra's turn to take the stage.

The music began and he turned on the charm, singing directly to the ladies in the audience, all of whom melted under the power of his gaze and the smoothly crooned lyrics.

 

_Yes you're lovely, with your smile so warm_

_And your cheeks so soft,_

_There is nothing for me but to love you,_

_And the way you look tonight… **[3]**_

 

          There was a collective sigh from the ladies at the end of the song, then a burst of enthusiastic applause.  The gazes of many of the ladies in the room followed Ezra back to the table he was sharing with the rest of Team Seven.  His friends all clapped him on the back or shoulder as they waited for the judges' decision, which took a little longer than usual.

          "Damn, stud, I see I finally have some competition around here," Buck said, half-annoyed, half-teasing.

          "Oh, no," Ezra corrected him, "I do not have the same apparent need as you to, uh, sample the wares of every young lady I meet."

          "Your loss," Buck replied, wagging his eyebrows at the man.

          "Do we have a winner?" Inez asked the judges, her fingers crossed behind her back.

          "We do," Mary said.  "Ezra Standish, ATF!"

          Team Seven erupted into cheers while the Marshal's service team groaned loudly.

          As the next pair of singers walked up to the stage, the undercover man stood, saying, "I'll set things in motion and hopefully return to see Mr. Sanchez compete."

          "Watch your back," Vin told him.

          Ezra nodded and headed for the door.

          "What was that about?" Nathan asked.

          "He thinks he might have another way to run our Mexican friend to ground," Larabee explained.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          Close to the end of Friday night's competition, Josiah and his opponent took to the stage.  This time it was Josiah who went first, his choice not startling Team Seven, but it did take some of the others there by surprise.  But the quality of the big man's voice amazed everyone, especially the fact that he wasn't a bass, but a rich baritone with a surprising range.  And, before he was done, several of the men watching were reaching for their hankies.

 

          _Oh Danny boy, the pipes the pipes are calling…_

 

          Even Denver PD officer, Patrick O'Hurley, who was up next, had to blow his nose twice before he took to the stage and launched into his rendition of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline."  The leftover congestion cost him the round.

          As Josiah sat back down, the victor, Chris shook his head and commented, "That was just downright mean, Josiah."

          The older man flashed Larabee a toothy grin.  "I had no idea my song would affect Sergeant O'Hurley so… profoundly."

          Nathan grinned.  "And here we all thought it was a stroke of amazing strategy."

          The big man chuckled.  "Just a lucky break for me, that's all."

          "Yeah, right," Buck muttered under his breath and they all laughed.

          After the next and final set for the night, Inez took the stage, saying, "All right, gentlemen, and ladies, that concludes the competition for this evening.  We'll see the rest of you back here tomorrow evening at seven, to pick up where we left off.  Goodnight, and thank you, everyone!"

          The competitors and their supporters all clapped.  The jukebox came on, the bar returning to "normal."

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

**27 May 2000, Saturday night**

**1720 Hours**

 

On the second night of the competition Nathan was up first, along with an FBI field agent.  Raine bounced excitedly in her seat, clapping her hands together as she watched the two preparing.

          "What's Nate gonna sing?" JD asked her.

          She grinned at him.  "Something no one's going to expect."

          JD rolled his eyes, but he knew he was just going to have to wait like the rest of the gathered crowd, which, he suspected, had grown significantly from the night before.  There wasn't an empty seat in the whole place and there were even folks lined up against the walls.  Both of the firefighters on the panel of judges had made headcounts to ensure they weren't over capacity.

          The FBI agent was up first and she picked a song from the Disney movie, "Beauty and the Beast."  Her voice was strong, but not as fluid as the score called for and she knew she didn't stand much of a chance of moving on to the second round when she handed Nathan the mike.  She gave his arm a friendly pat and wished him luck.

          "Thanks," Jackson replied, then he took the stage, shot a grin at Raine, and waited for the music to start.  When it did, there were surprised looks from the men at the table he'd left.

          "Wow," JD said a few moments later, "I never would've guessed!"

          Nathan belted out the upbeat Doobie Brother's hit, and several of the people lining the walls took to the dance floor to enjoy it.

 

          _No matter what condition your condition is in,_

_The music goes on and on…_

_Music is the doctor, makes you feel like you want to,_

_Listen to the doctor, just like you want to..._ [4]

 

          The cheers at the end of the song were loud and long and Nathan was grinning from ear to ear when he slid back into his seat and reached over, giving Raine a hug.

She kissed him on the cheek, saying, "You were great!"

"Damn straight you were," Buck agreed, leaning over to grab the back of Jackson's neck and give him a shake.

"Thanks," Nathan said, dipping his head slightly in embarrassment.

"Mr. Jackson, you have been keeping your not-so-insubstantial talent under a basket," Ezra chided him.

Nathan shrugged.  "I just like to sing.  Do it in the shower all the time."

"And he's _always_ singing along to the radio in the car," Raine added.

"Hey, that's good practice!" JD commented, nodding.

"Now I know how to spend some of that time on stakeouts," Josiah teased his friend.

"I'd say you're the man to beat so far, Nathan," Chris offered, a small smile on his lips.  He was enjoying this as much as the others, but sometimes the memories would rise up and extinguish his pleasure, filling his heart with pain and longing.  God, he still missed her, even after nearly three years.  But he knew he couldn't let that stop him from supporting his team.  They were doing great, and he hoped one of them would win the competition, giving him bragging rights among his peers in the other branches of federal law enforcement.

Four more rounds passed before the next member of Team Seven hit the stage.  JD looked excited and more than ready when he took the mike first for the twenty-first round.  He glanced over the faceless crowd, a few nervous butterflies attacking his stomach, but he ignored them.  He'd done enough plays in high school to have gotten used to performing in front of a crowd.  So, taking a deep breath, he nodded that he was ready to begin.

The music started and JD launched into the song, much to the delight of the crowd.

 

_Highway to the danger zone… **[5]**_

 

          "Way to go, kid!" Buck howled when JD rejoined them at the table.  He held up his hand and got a high-five from the younger man, who dropped into his chair, breathless.  Casey gave him a hug and a kiss, grinning as he blushed in response.

          They listened as JD's competition took the stage, belting out a rather flat version of "Oklahoma."  Ezra winced several times, and Vin looked like he wanted to cover his ears.

          At the end of the song, the DEA agent apologized, saying that he'd been fighting a cold all week, and it had finally settled in his chest the day before yesterday.

          The judges returned their decision in record time.  JD Dunne was headed for the second round.

          While the competition continued, Larabee leaned in slightly closer to Standish and asked, "Any word?"

          "Not yet," Ezra replied.  "However, he should be seeing his cousin at church tomorrow…  I doubt we'll hear anything before then."

          Four more rounds passed, and it was time for the last of Team Seven to show his stuff.  But first Vin's competitor took the stage.  The large black man from the Denver PD purred out a version of "What a Wonderful World" that had more than a few of the ladies melting in their seats, including Mary Travis.

          "Oh dear," Ezra commented, seeing the effect of the man's Lou Rawls-like voice on the newspaper woman, "it appears Vin might be the only one of us not to make it into the second round.  I fear Miss Travis has been besotted."

          "We'll see," Chris commented, noting that Vin was talking to the man operating the laptop that controlled the karaoke machine.

          After the thunderous applause died down, Vin stepped up onto the stage.  And while no one else present at the bar might have noticed it, the members of Team Seven witnessed a startling transformation take place in their agent.

Vin Tanner was usually a quiet, soft-spoken man, someone who preferred to remain in the shadows, drawing as little attention to himself as possible.  Even among his friends he was quiet and still somewhat reserved.  In fact, none of them really knew very much about his past, or all the things he was involved with in his community.  Vin was their silent, steady sniper, the one who was always there to watch their backs, and to pull their balls out of the fire when things went to hell in a heartbeat – and the one to watch out for on the first of April.

          The strong, silent type, one might say, with an underlying wicked sense of humor that manifested itself in a well-timed, well-executed occasional practical joke, or a dry comeback line that had the rest of them holding their sides.

But they all knew Vin felt things deeply, even if he almost always kept the depths of his emotions carefully hidden behind those clear, pale blue eyes of his, eyes that were far older than his years.  That was, until he was worried about one of them, or angered over some injustice he stumbled across.  In those moments, emotions flooded his eyes, stripping off the layers of carefully constructed defenses he'd built up over an unusually difficult lifetime, leaving him open and easy to read.

Vin was, they all knew, an intensely private person, and they had all come to accept and to respect that.  But now, seeing him up there on stage, there was a sudden vulnerability to the man that was both disconcerting and compelling at the same time.  It was as if while singing he could no longer hold up those walls he regularly hid behind, glimpses of the man's true soul suddenly laid bare for all to see.  And that gave his performance an authenticity and an emotional power no one else in the competition had demonstrated.

Josiah felt a chill chase down his spine as Vin looked up and gazed out at the crowd.  He knew from his own experience behind the mike that the younger man couldn't actually see anyone's face, the lights above him making that impossible.  But those same lights revealed a depth of honesty in the man's eyes that startled him.  If he'd been asked to guess at that moment what Vin was going to sing, he would have said some sad ballad, but that was about as far from what Tanner had picked as one could possibly get.

The music started and while the unsettling candor never left Vin's eyes, he launched into a song that took them all by surprise.  Inez had told them the night they had registered for the competition that any song on the system was available for anyone to pick, that the high tech computer would allow a man to sing a song usually performed by a woman, or vice versa, but so far no one had dared to cross the gender line.  The men had all chosen songs sung by men, and the women had picked those sung by other women.  Vin, however, changed that, and Josiah knew with absolute certainty that he had done so because he wanted a song that allowed him to tell a story, his story, or some part of it.  The usual key had been shifted into a more comfortable one for Tanner, but the song was still as energetic as when it had been sung by the woman who popularized it.

And, as Josiah sat there, listening to Vin raise the energy in the room to its highest point in the competition since Nathan's performance, he wondered exactly what it was that the younger man was trying to tell them.

 

_I've got nothin' to be ashamed of,_

_Love's been a little hard on me_

_If I shy away it's only because_

_Love's been a little bit hard on me…_

 

          Vin's voice was also a surprise.  Deeper and more powerful than anyone would have expected; it was hard to imagine that it was actually coming from the sniper, who seemed too small, too slender to account for it.  But the members of Team Seven knew those impressions were incorrect.  Vin might be just under six feet tall, and trim, but he was strong and muscular, with a swimmer's proportional, well-defined physique hidden under the layers of loose clothing he favored.  But the shoulder-length chestnut hair added to his already youthful appearance, making the man's powerful voice even more unexpected.

 

          _I can remember when it's been so much_

_Love's been a little bit had on me_

_I shy away from the slightest touch_

_Love's been a little bit hard on me…_

_Come out, come out_

_To the hopeless romantic inside_

_Shout it's all right, all right…_

 

          Josiah's throat tightened as he watched Vin's eyes close on the next line of the song – belted out with amazing clarity and strength – and trembled, the raw truth behind the words telling him it was exactly how Vin lived.

 

          _To stay so dark_

_So close to the light…_

_I'll be back when I calm my fears_

_Love's been a little bit hard on me_

_See you around in a thousand years_

_Love's been a little bit hard on me… **[6]**_

 

          When the music came to an end there was a brief moment of dead silence, then the bar exploded into deafening applause.  The men of Team Seven were speechless when Tanner slipped silently back into his seat to await the judges' decision.

Josiah caught the covert glance the sniper shot in Larabee's direction as he sat down, and the resulting expression of relief that followed.  His breath caught, and his heart began to beat a little faster.  Could it be?  Could Vin actually be in love with Chris?  His thoughts were scattered when Buck broke the silence.

          "Wow," the ladies' man breathed, the sound all but lost in the still thundering applause, but the others could read the word on his lips just fine.

          "Indeed," Ezra replied, loud enough for the others to hear him.

          And, at the announcement of Vin's victory, the bar erupted again and Tanner dipped his head, trying to disappear into his seat.

          "You never told us you could sing like _that!_ " JD said.  "That was _amazing!_ "

          Vin looked up, his cheeks and ears bright red from embarrassment.  "Ain't no big deal…"

          "'No big deal'?" Ezra echoed, his tone and expression incredulous.  "My good man, you could have a lucrative career as a professional singer if you so chose."

          That just made Vin's face go redder still.  "Y'all got great voices," he argued.  "Guess they just liked the song."

          Josiah was slightly amused by Vin's modesty, but he suspected the man knew exactly what kind of voice he had, he just didn't like being the center of attention.

Nathan reached over and clapped the sniper on the back, saying, "I think _you're_ the man to beat."

Vin shook his head.  "Naw, you're gonna take that trophy home, Nate.  No doubt about it."

"Hell, Vin, I thought _I_ was!" Buck lamented, shifting the unwanted attention off the younger man at last.

The others all laughed and Tanner shot the ladies' man a grateful look.

"Only in your dreams," Chris teased his long-time friend.

Buck pulled himself up, his chest puffing out with feigned indignation.  "You just wait until you hear my _next_ song."

"Probably some dreadful ditty from the late Mr. Presley."

Buck's eyes rounded.  "Dreadful?" he demanded.  "Ezra, there ain't nothing dreadful about Elvis!"

Standish rolled his eyes and the two men were off, arguing about the merits of Elvis versus Sinatra.  JD, unable to keep from chiming in with his own opinions, added a comparison to classic metalica, causing both men to squawk.

The last two competitors were like an afterthought, and the night ended with everyone still congratulating Vin on his stunning performance.  The following Saturday they would meet again to see which of the remaining twenty-seven competitors would advance to the third round, but, until then, Team Seven still had an assignment to deal with.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

**28 May 2000, Sunday**

**0950 Hours**

 

          The men of Team Seven met early to share a breakfast of bagels and cream cheese.  Larabee even broke out some local, homemade sausages he had picked up from the farmer's market and fried some of that up for the group.

They ate, talking about the competition and waiting to see if Ezra's contact would come through for them.  But it wasn't until just after one o'clock that the undercover man's cell phone rang.

"Hello."  Standish listened for a moment and then said, "I do appreciate it…  Yes, we are squared, my friend.  Thank you."  He ended the call and dropped his cell phone back into his pocket.  "We'll need to go now.  Anzar will be moving later this evening."

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

**1640 Hours**

 

          Team Seven set up a perimeter, Chris and Vin working their way closer so the sniper could use an infra red scope to check out the target building.

          "Looks like… six… seven… eight tangos… and our hostage, on the second floor," Tanner said after he carefully scanned the old Victorian house.  They were on the edge of a quiet, residential area, one of the oldest in the city.  The trees here were large, towering over the rows of Victorians, many of which were showing their age.  But along this street the old homes had been converted into a variety of businesses – boutiques, cafés or, in the case of the target, a small Irish pub.

          Ezra was already inside, sitting and sipping on a glass of dark ale as he watched the other patrons, and in particular a Hispanic man who was seated at the end of the bar, keeping an eye on the staircase that lead to the second floor where Agent Marcario was being held.

          "Ezra, give me a sitrep on the entry," Chris said quietly into his radio.

          Inside the bar, the undercover man leaned over rested his chin in the curve of his thumb and index fingers, saying softly, "One set of stairs leading up, one obvious gatekeeper."

          The others all heard his reply as well over the communications units they wore.

          "So, how do we do this?" Nathan asked over the link.

          "Could use a grenade launcher through a second story window," Buck said, more in jest than anything.

          "Well, that's termination with extreme prejudice," Vin growled softly.

          "I think we'll just walk in the front door," Chris stated before Wilmington could reply.

          "Uh, isn't that kinda suicidal?" JD asked a little nervously.  There were at least nine of Anzar's men in that house if Vin was right, and he had no doubt the sniper was.

Before Larabee could key his radio to tell Standish their plans, Ezra's voice announced, "Four coming out."

"I like your plan a little better now," Buck said with a grin at JD.

"Ezra," Chris said into his radio, "can you take out the gatekeeper?"

"Consider it done," was the undercover man's reply.

Ezra reached into the pocket of his Italian suit coat and took out what looked like a one-inch square band-aid.  He removed the covering from one side of the square and stuck it to the inside of his hand, half on his fingers and half on his palm.  With that done, he carefully removed the protective strip from the top of the square and casually stood, heading for the bar.

As Standish drew closer, the big man at the end of the bar stood, determined to ensure no one tried to head up the stairs.

Ezra's eyes met the guard's and he smiled widely, picking up his pace and extending his hand in the universal gesture of greeting.

The guard accepted the handshake without thinking as Standish said, "Pepe, so good to see you!"

The man frowned.  "You have mistaken me for someone else," he said in heavily accented English.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry," Ezra said, pulling his hand back.  "Please, accept my apology."  His gaze slid to the bartender and he asked, "Could I get a refill?"

"Sure, be just a second," the man replied.

Standish offered the guard one last apologetic smile, then turned to make his way back to his seat, saying softly, "I just gave our man a handshake that would knock out an elephant; you may come in."  He paused and turned, watching as the guard swayed and then stumbled into the bar.  A moment later the big Mexican had collapsed to the floor.

"Something's wrong with that man!" Ezra said loudly, pointing to the fallen guard.  Everyone in the pub moved forward to get a look.  "Somebody _do_ something," he added with a touch of panic in his voice.

"He's havin' some kind of a fit," one of the other patrons said as Chris, Vin, and Buck entered the pub, heading straight for the stairs.  The rest of the patrons crowded in closer to see.

Once hidden on the stairs, the three agents drew their silenced weapons and continued on without pause.  Below them, Ezra was keeping the crowd occupied with the suggestion of plague.

Reaching the landing on the second floor, Buck stayed at the top of the stairs to guard their escape while Chris and Vin each turned in different directions, checking rooms as they made their way down the hallway.  All but one door was open, and all the open rooms were empty.  Marcario and her guards must be in the last room, behind the only door that was closed.

Chris waited outside the closed door, signaling for Vin to join him once the sniper made it to the end of the hallway.  Tanner silently hurried back to him.

"Let's rock and roll," Larabee said softly, testing the knob, which he found unlocked.

From behind the door they could hear a television playing, a local newscaster describing a high speed chase that had ended in tragedy earlier in the day.

The two men exchanged a single look, then Chris lifted his foot and kicked open the door, he and Vin slipping swiftly into the room.  "Nobody move!" Larabee snapped, and Vin repeated the words in rapid-fire Spanish.

The four men in the room all looked up, surprised.  Lina was sitting in a chair, streaks of mascara staining her cheeks, but apparently unharmed.

"Time to go," Chris said, looking directly at the woman.

She nodded and stood, moving directly to Larabee's side, but careful not to step in front of him and spoil his shot.  "Thank God," she said softly.  "I didn't think anyone would come."

"Keep your hands up," Vin growled at the men, repeating the command in Spanish, but it was already too late.  He saw one man go for a weapon resting on the chair next to him.

The sniper grabbed the man he was standing next to, jerking the guard in front of his chest just as the seated man opened fire.  The man's body jerked and he fell, Vin squeezing off a burst that sent the man in the chair tumbling over backward, dead.

Tanner lunged out of the room just as the last two men opened up on them.  He managed to take one of them down, but the other continued to fire through the open door and into the hallway.

As he had seen the seated man going for the gun, Chris had shoved Lina forward, toward the door.  He crowded behind her to protect her retreat and to hurry her along.  In the hallway, he shoved her toward Buck, snapping, "Get her out of here!"

Vin reached Larabee's shoulder a moment later, the shooter coming out of the room, firing at them.  Tanner lunged, placing himself between Chris and the shooter, knocking the man's arm up so he was firing into the hallway ceiling.  His own weapon was too large to bring up for a shot, and his body was blocking Larabee's shot.  But they were lucky and the shooter panicked, dropping his weapon, turning, and throwing himself through the window at the end of the hallway before Tanner could fire.

Chris grabbed Vin by the shoulder and jerked him around, the two men heading down the stairs.  At the bottom they were met by the yells of patrons, the wails of sirens and general chaos that covered the events upstairs.  Weapons disappeared under their coats and they headed straight out, no one the wiser about what had happened.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

**1755 Hours**

 

          "That the safe house?" Josiah asked over the comm unit as they neared the address they had been given by their CIA contact.

          "It is," JD confirmed from a second vehicle.

          "Something's wrong," Buck added.  He was driving, sitting next to JD.

          "And I don't think it's affirmative action," Vin added, noting that all of the guards stationed around the supposed safe house were Hispanics.  He met Chris's gaze in the rearview mirror.

          "Keep moving," Chris instructed the other drivers of the SUVs.  "There's been a leak," he snarled.  "Split up, meet at the fallback rally point in two hours," he instructed the men.  Josiah and Nathan took a right, Buck and JD a left, their vehicles quickly disappearing.

          "Let me out," Vin said from the back seat.  "I'll see what they do, then hook up with Ezra an' meet ya."

          Larabee nodded, pulling over to the curb in the next block.  Tanner slipped from the back and started away.  Chris glanced over at the woman.  "Looks like you're with me."

          She nodded.

          "How many men does Anzar have here in Denver?" he asked her.

          She shook her head, saying, "Too many; and too many eyes and ears in the federal building."

          That prompted a scowl from Larabee, but he didn't say anything.  They drove in silence for a while, and then Chris pulled into the parking lot of a large mall and parked.  They left the vehicle and headed out on foot, away from the mall.

Almost an hour later they reached a rundown building, Larabee leading the way into the basement.  When they were in a dark corner, hidden in the shadows, he told her, "We'll wait here until it's dark, then join the others."

A few minutes later Larabee's radio clicked.  He gave an answering click in reply.

"Y' someplace safe?" Vin's voice asked him.

"We are."

"Sit tight then," Tanner told him.  "Allen just showed up at the safe house.  Didn't look none too happy either."

"Shit," Larabee replied.  So their DEA contact was the one on Anzar's payroll – just great.  "We're going to need transpo, but not until it's dark."

"Sounds good," Vin replied.  "Meet us where the pink ponies play."

"Roger that," Chris said, then returned his radio to his pocket.  He and Agent Marcario had some time to kill.

"Are they going to come get us?" she asked him nervously.

"No.  We'll find our own transpo once it's dark and meet them."

"What if we're late?  Will they leave us out here?" she asked, the edge of panic clear in her trembling voice.

"They won't," Larabee assured her.  "It doesn't work that way with us."

"One of them might work for Anzar."

"No way," he assured her with a shake of his head.  "Look, just relax.  It'll be dark in a couple of hours and we'll head out."

"They're going to kill me," she said, beginning to shake.  "I saw too much… heard too much…"

"Take it easy.  It'll be fine.  We'll get you to someone who can protect you."

"Who?" she demanded, looking up at him, eyes flashing.  "There are DEA and CIA agents working for Anzar _and_ Salazar.  They can't let me talk–"

"Everybody comes home," Chris told her.  "That's how we work."

She snorted derisively.

"You think that's funny?"

"Let's just say it wouldn't be the first time a government agent's lied to me, or an operation went south.  It's hard to find good help these days."

"Yeah?  Seems like you're pretty good at what you do," he told her.  "You had Salazar wrapped up nice and tight in your bed."

She blinked, slightly taken aback.  Then she smiled.  "Yes, well, we all have our _talents_ , don't we?" she challenged him.  "And Uncle Sam pays us for them.  But I haven't killed anyone."

Chris snorted at that, but he really looked at the women for the first time.  She was pretty, with an alluring figure and long, thick black hair.  Her almond-shaped brown eyes were large and flattering, and her skin was pale, but touched with a honey glow.  "How'd you end up in this business?" he asked her.

She smiled sadly.  "My mother.  She was a domestic for a rich man in Los Angeles.  Then, one day, she didn't come home.  I found out later she'd been working for Carlos Rivera, Anzar's uncle.  A friend of his had seen her and decided to… enjoy her.  When she fought back, he killed her.  The police found her body several weeks later…"

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely.

She nodded.  "I decided I wanted to rid the world of men like Rivera…"  Glancing over at him again, she asked, "And you?"

Chris shrugged.  "Just happened… Navy, PD, then–"  He stopped, not sure he wanted to tell her which agency he was with.

She smiled sadly.  "We all have our secrets," she told him.  "If I had to guess, I'd say… CIA?"

He smiled, letting her think whatever she wanted.  It didn't matter.  All that did was getting her to Travis.  Let him deal with the higher ups.  He'd know who he could trust.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          "Tell me something," Lina said a short while later.  "Why would you risk your people's lives when it would've been easier to just kill me?"

          Larabee hesitated for a moment and then replied, "Let's just say it's a weakness of mine.  I have an aversion to killing fellow agents who are just doing their job."

          Before she could reply, the sound of a motor stopped the conversation.  Chris moved to a small window that opened at street level.  From there he was able to see a car creeping slowly down the alleyway.  He frowned when he was able to see that the vehicle was a black sedan – the universal fed-mobile.  He cursed silently and reached for the 45 he carried.

          "What is it?" she asked him.

          Larabee lifted his hand to silence her, watching as someone climbed out of the car.  Voices drifted down to him, enough of the Spanish understandable.  They were asking a couple of local street people about a pair of gringo strangers.  But the homeless teens they had asked hadn't seen anything, the car moved on.  When it was gone, he turned and leaned back against the wall.

          "We have to get you someplace safe.  Whoever Anzar's got inside is pulling out all the stops."

          She hesitated for a moment, like she was trying to decide how far she could trust him.

          "What?" he demanded.  "If you're holding something back–"

          "I know someone," she said.  "Someone _I_ trust.  I'm sure he could keep me safe until you find someone to debrief me.  But it has to be someone _you_ trust – completely."

          He nodded.  "Who is this guy?"  She shook her head and he flashed a wry grin.  "We all have our secrets, right?"

          "It's the nature of the business."

          _Your business_ , he thought, but he said out loud, "Where?"

          "He'll know I'm out in the cold.  We… had a plan…  There's an abandoned building, in Purgatorio.  If we can get there…"

          Larabee thought for a moment and then nodded.  It was getting dark outside anyway.  He reached for his radio, but she held up her hand to stop him.

          "It's not that I don't trust you, I do, but I don't trust the rest of your team.  I've already been hung out to dry once.  You can make the call once we're there."

          He didn't like it, but he could understand her desire for caution.  He'd feel much the same if he was in her position.  He nodded and they headed back to the exit.  But, as they walked, he reached into his pocket and turned on the radio, giving it three clicks before leaving it on in his pocket.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

**2020 Hours**

 

          Chris studied the old warehouse.  It was one of many on the southeastern edge of Purgatorio, an area still untouched by the urban renewal that had transformed a large portion of the lower downtown area.  "You sure your contact will be here?"

          "Yeah," she said.

          They approached the building from the southern side, where all of the nearby lights had either burned out or been shot out.  They slipped inside the 19th century brick building and picked their way through the debris scattered over the cement floors.

          They had just reached a dimply lit area when several men with guns stepped out from behind pillars and old crates.  "Your contact needs guards?" Chris asked her, his gut telling him something was wrong, very wrong.

          "Something like that," she replied, her voice colder than he'd heard it.

          A moment later, he was firing, the men returning fire.  Larabee was struck in the thigh and went down.  A few moments later he was surrounded and disarmed.

Alejandro Salazar stepped out from behind cover to join them.  "Thank you, Agent Larabee, for returning what doesn't belong to you."  Lina emerged from cover and walked over to join him.  He smiled down at her, saying, "Welcome home, darling."

          Chris was quickly checked for additional weapons and his radio confiscated as Lina and Salazar exchanged a deep, passionate kiss.  The agent sighed softly, wishing Travis had been wrong, and hoping the others had been able to triangulate his location by now.  If they hadn't, he was a dead man.

          That private talk at Travis' home had revealed more than he'd expected the older man to share with him.  There were some in the government who hadn't believed Salazar was truly dead, and they had obviously been right.  There were also those who were afraid that Agent Marcario had fallen for the charismatic Colombian, and it appeared they had been right about that was well.  Which explained the terminate order.  They hadn't been willing to take any chances.  They had left that to Larabee and his team.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

**2035 Hours**

 

          Larabee was seated on an old wooden chair, his hands tied securely behind his back.  Nearby, Lina Marcario stood, watching him.  She had tied down a field dressing on his bleeding leg a moment ago, but he could feel it still seeping.

          "Why would you betray your country, your fellow agents, for a man like Salazar?"

          "Alejandro is one step away from taking control in Colombia.  Those in power there listen to him, and he listens to me."

          Larabee snorted derisively.  "You've seen _Evita_ one too many times, lady."

          "We all have our destinies, Agent Larabee, mine is to lead a country."

          "And mine?"

          "To be bait… so we can lure in the rest of your team… and erase them."  She sighed heavily and began to hum a tune Larabee thought he recognized.  He was sure of it as she began to sing, her voice a clear if cold soprano.

 

_Some girls go to church on Sunday_

_Live life by the golden rule_

_You got girls gonna graduate one day_

_Some come laude from party school_

_Some they walk the straight and narrow_

_Some girls they just don't care_

_Good girls go to heaven_

_Bad girls, go everywhere_

_Some girls are into heavy metal_

_Dance with the devil everywhere they go_

_Others of 'em cut a rug to the fiddle_

_Dance to the rhythm of the cotton eyed joe_

_Some they walk the straight and narrow_

_Some girls they just don't care_

_Good girls go to heaven_

_Bad girls, go everywhere_

_Miss high fullutin' likes to sip fine champagne_

_Prim and proper drippin' in diamond rings_

_Little sister wears high heals and blue jeans_

_A long neck drinkin' certified wild thang_

_Some they walk the straight and narrow_

_Some girls they just don't care_

_Good girls go to heaven_

_Bad girls, go everywhere_

_Good girls go to heaven_

_Bad girls go everywhere **[7]**_

 

          Chris snorted when she was done.  "Any sometimes they end up dead," he told her.

          Salazar interrupted them, walking in to join them.  "Has he told you anything?"

          She shook her head.

          "Who sent you?" Salazar demanded.  "CIA?  DEA?  Who?"

          She frowned.  "Our people inside couldn't tell you?

          "All that they could tell me is that Agent Larabee and his men are ATF, but not who asked them to come for you, my dear."

          "ATF?" she echoed, her tone incredulous.  She shook her head.  "I don't think so."

          "Perhaps that is only a cover…"  He stepped up to Chris and slapped him hard across the face.  "No matter.  Marco discovered that his radio had been left on.  No doubt his men will be arriving shortly.  And then they will be dead, just like Anzar is dead.  We will leave behind enough evidence so they will know you and your men killed him, Agent Larabee."  He smiled and delivered another blow to Chris's face.  "Lina and I will be on our way back to Colombia…"

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

**Close by**

 

          Ezra shook his head.  "They really do get full of themselves, don't they?"

          "Absolute power corrupts absolutely," Josiah quoted.

          "So, what do we do?" JD asked, looking around at the others.

          "Just like any other hostile strike, JD," Vin said softly, his gaze locked on the radio as they heard Salazar striking Larabee for a second time.  "We go in 'n' blow their fuckin' egos away."

          "Now we know why there was a terminate order attached to Ms. Marcario," Ezra said on a sigh.  "Someone must have suspected she'd been turned."

          Vin's chin jerked up and his eyes flashed.  "They should've told us."

          Josiah reached out, resting his hand on Tanner's shoulder.  "Too many layers of bullshit, you know how that works, brother."

          "They were probably hoping we could get her out alive," Nathan offered.  "So they could get a shot at debriefing her, find out who's on Salazar's payroll."

          "Anzar's too, probably.  But none of it matters now," Buck cut in.  "All that does is gettin' Chris out of there alive."

          "We'll get him out," Tanner growled, blue eyes narrowed with determination.

          Wilmington nodded, but he didn't say anything more.  He had seen that look before, and he knew what it meant.  Tanner was on a hunt, and nothing or nobody was going to stop him from reaching Chris.  And, if they tried, they were going to end up dead.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

**2050 Hours**

 

          Alone on his chair, Chris struggled to free himself.  He knew his men would be nearby, knew they would come for him, but he didn't want to take the chance one of them might get wounded or killed, not if he could escape and slip away on his own.  But his struggles were ended when Lina returned with two guards.

          Damn.  There was nothing for him to do now but wait, and pray that none of his people got hurt trying to save him.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

**At the same time**

 

          Vin led the way in, sweeping the alleyway and the building with his silenced HK as he moved forward along the side of the building.  With the lights off on the south side of the building he knew Salazar's men would expect them to come in from that direction, which was why he'd decided on a western approach.

          As they neared a fire escape, he slowed and then stopped, crouching down in the shadows and studying the landing one floor above him.  They had changed the frequency on their radio units so Salazar couldn't listen in on them, and Vin said softly, "Looks like a possible ambush."  Here in the shadows, they were still invisible to the men inside the building, but if they went for the fire escape they would be visible for a brief moment as they crossed under it.  "Second floor door is open off the fire escape."

          Before anyone could reply, the soft _thuppt_ from one of the silenced weapons echoed in the darkness.  "Rear guard," Josiah said a moment later.  "We're clear."

          "Wait for my go," Vin said, then dropped down onto his belly and started forward along the edge of the building.  Trash, cardboard boxes and garbage bins hid his progress.  When he was almost directly underneath the fire escape landing, he rolled over onto his back and waited.  Several minutes later he saw the end of a rifle poke past the door and then withdraw, the guard on the door sneaking a peek into the alley.

          Vin rolled back over and crawled forward past the metal ladder that led up the door, then said softly into his lip-mike, "JD, y' feelin' fast?"

          "What do you have in mind?" Buck asked into his ear.

          "Need a diversion to pop the guard out so I can get a shot," he said.  "Figger JD's the fastest one we got.  Need y' t' sprint across the alley.  Just graze the light."

          "Jesus, Vin," Wilmington growled, "you're askin' him to be a target."

          "I can do it," JD said over his comm unit.

          "Like hell–" Buck started, but he was cut off by Nathan.

          "You got your vest on, JD?" the former medic asked.

          "I do," the younger man replied.

          "On five," Vin said, getting into position to take the shot as he counted.  "One… two… three… four… five."

          JD burst from one side of the alley, charging for the opposite.  He was visible for just a split second as he crossed into the light.  And, in that instant, the shooter leaned out to take his shot.

Two silenced shots were heard as one in the alley.  The guard dropped onto the fire escape landing, a hole between his eyes.

"JD, you okay?" Buck demanded.

"Fine," the younger man panted.  "Missed… me…"

"Josiah, Nathan, JD, set up out here, make sure we got a safe route out.  Ezra, Buck, follow me," Vin said, already moving to the metal ladder and climbing up as he was speaking.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          Inside the old warehouse Vin led the others, his HK up, tracking wherever his gaze fell as he made his way through the building.  He saw the bodies before he reached them.

The breath he had been holding escaped once he knew none of the fallen men were Larabee.

          And then the firefight began.  The agents used the cement pillars for cover, threading their way from one to the next so that one agent was moving, two providing cover for him.

Salazar's guards were quickly cut down by the three men.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          Still tied to the chair, Chris listened to the gun battle that was drawing closer.

          "You trained your people well," Lina said, hurrying over to him, an automatic pistol in her hand.  "Let's see how they are at hostage negotiations…"

          Before he could reply, Vin was there, his HK up and aimed at straight at Lina, who had slipped behind Larabee, holding the Tec-9 to his head.

          "Put it down, lady," Tanner growled, his gaze locked with the woman's.  It was cold and unwavering.

          "We both were trained by the same government," she hissed at him, trying to make sure she was well protected by Larabee's body.  "We've read the same manuals.  You know I can't put this gun down."

          "Then y' know I can't let y' walk out 'a here."

          "Take the shot, Vin," Chris ordered, already more than tired of the situation.

          Lina pressed closer to Larabee's back, snapping, "There's a seventy percent change I'll pull this trigger before I'm dead."

          Tanner's finger slipped off the side of the HK and onto the trigger.  "I don't think so," he said softly, his tone as deadly as Larabee had ever hear it.  "Smart thing for y' t' do is put that weapon down… an' I'll letcha live."

          Buck and Ezra joined Tanner on that, both men providing cover for the sniper if any more of Salazar's men showed up.

          "We can all go home," Vin told her, still staring straight at the woman, blue eyes unblinking.

          "Don't you know?  You _can't_ go home again," Lina sneered at him.

          "Take the shot!" Larabee snapped at the sniper.  "That's the order."

          Tanner's finger tightened on the trigger, but he still didn't fire.  He was waiting for the opening he needed.  He knew he could drop her with a single shot that would kill her before the message to pull the trigger could travel from her brain to her finger, but he had to place it just right.

          "Nothing left t' fight for," he told her.

          Chris stared hard at Vin, wondering why he hadn't fired yet.  Then he knew.  Tanner wasn't going to take the chance that she _might_ get that shot off, the one that could kill him.  But be damned if he was going to sit here all night long.

          "Salazar is dead," Ezra informed her.  "Whatever you thought he could give you, it's gone."

          Chris felt her stiffen at the news, heard the almost imperceptible gasp as she sucked in a breath.  And he moved, jerking down and away from her.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          From where he stood, time and motion both slowed for Vin.  He saw Lina's eyes widen as Chris jerked away from her.  Saw the automatic response of her body as she jerked back and away from the unexpected movement, her autonomic nervous system kicking in before she could override it.  And the Tec-9 moved as well, being pulled away from Chris as her muscles tightened in the anticipation of flight.

          He had a clear kill shot, but he didn't take it.  His eyes remained locked on hers, waiting to see what she decided to do.

And, a split second later, he saw her choice as she made it.  She had nothing left to live for.  She would rather die than face the consequences of her actions.  But the only way she was going to die was if she forced him to kill her.

          Her eyes narrowed with the decision, her muscles tightened again and she shifted her weight forward.  The Tec-9 began to move, swinging back toward Larabee.

          Vin waited until the last possible moment, giving her a chance to change her mind, but she didn't.

He pulled the trigger.

          There was a soft "Oh!" as she was struck, then silence as she fell, dead.  Her weapon clattered to the cement floor next to her, no chance for her last desire to pull the trigger to be executed.

          Vin slowly lowered his HK, his gaze shifting to Chris for the first time.  "Y' all right?"

          "I am now."

          "She's dead," Buck said, after having checked Lina's throat for a pulse.  He looked up at Tanner, realizing once again just how deadly the man really was.

          "Her choice," Vin said almost off-handedly as he moved forward to free Chris.  She had, after all, nearly gotten the man he loved killed, and he wasn't about to feel sorry for her.

          "Thought I told you to take the shot," Larabee growled as Tanner crouched down to cut him free.

          Vin paused, looking up, blue eyes meeting green.  "Y' want t' die?"

          The muscles in Chris's jaws jumped with frustration, but he knew what the man was saying.  Still, there was a principle here as well.  "Next time I tell you to take the shot, you damn well better take it."

          Vin's cheeks colored slightly, blue eyes flashed.  "Fuck you, Larabee," he snarled, then stood and stalked off, leaving Ezra to finish cutting the man free.

          Buck watched Tanner disappear, then looked back at his friend and said, "He just saved your life, stud."

          "He disobeyed a direct order."

          "Yeah, to save your sorry ass," Wilmington returned more hotly.

          The Larabee glare silenced him, but it didn't keep Ezra from adding, "He'll never take a chance with your life.  Surely you must know that by now.  He cares too much for that."

          That took Chris aback and he huffed out a breath, then drew a deep one.  He owed Vin an apology, but he hated making them.  He shook his head as his vision wavered, going completely fuzzy a moment later.  "Shit," he whispered thickly as his eyes rolled up and he was jerked abruptly into the void of unconsciousness.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

**Monday morning**

**0610**

 

          Vin stood at the large window in the waiting room.  Beyond the glass the mountains were just becoming visible in the pale dawn light.  Chris had made it through surgery without any complications, and they had allowed him to sit beside the man in Recovery, but then they had taken Larabee, getting him ready to be moved into a regular post-op room, and Vin had been sent back to the waiting room once again.

          The others had all gone home last night – _Or was it early this morning?_ he wondered – once they knew Chris was out of surgery and doing fine.  Vin had walked out with them, but instead of heading home, he'd waited for them to leave, then turned around and headed back into the hospital to wait.  He knew he couldn't leave until Chris was awake, until he saw for himself the man was going to be all right.

          So he had asked, and they had let him sit in Recovery, listening to the whirs and beeps of various pieces of medical equipment, watching the steady rise and fall of Larabee's chest.  Before he knew it, he was shaking, uncontrollably, hard.  He wasn't sure why it was happening, didn't want it to continue, but there was nothing he could do to stop it.

          A nurse stopped by, asking if he was all right.  He'd nodded, but she hadn't been convinced, because she brought him a blanket, draping it around his shoulders, and then left, returning a few minutes later with a chocolate shake from the cafeteria.

          "He's doing great," she told him, lightly rubbing his back.  "Really.  He came through the surgery just fine, the wound wasn't that bad…  He'll be as good as new in no time."

          Vin nodded.  He already knew that, it was what the doctor had told him and the others when Chris came out of surgery, but hearing her say it again seemed to help.  He wasn't shaking as much now, and the blanket was chasing away the chill that had taken up residence in his bones, even with the shake, which tasted really good, even at that early morning hour.

He looked up at her and said, "I just need to see him awake, y' know?"

          She nodded and smiled at him.  "I know.  And it'll be a little while yet, but then he'll wake up."

          He nodded.  "I'll just sit here with him 'til then… okay?"

          "Okay," she said.  "We'll be moving him to a regular room on the post-op ward in about an hour.  He should be waking up around then."

          Tanner nodded again and took another sip of his shake.  She patted his shoulder.  "I'll be around, if you need anything, okay?"

          He nodded.  "Thanks."

          "No problem."

          So he had sat and finished the shake; Chris continued to sleep.

The nurse returned in an hour and told him he'd needed to go wait in the waiting room while they moved Chris to his room.  So, here he was, staring out at the mountains, waiting for the sun to rise, or for someone to come and get him.

          He shifted his weight slightly and sighed, wishing they would hurry up and come get him.

          "Mr. Tanner?"

          He turned.  It was the nurse, the one who had brought him the blanket and the shake.

          "Mr. Larabee's in room three-oh-three.  You can go up.  He should be waking up any time now."  She smiled at him.  "He's still doing great."

          "Thank you," he replied and headed straight for the elevator.  Pressing the up button, he passed the time waiting for the car by scanning the directory posted between the two elevator doors.  The names and specialties meant nothing to him.

          The bell rang and one of the doors slid open.  Vin stepped inside and poked the button for the third floor.  The door slid shut and he started down, stopping on the third floor.  Stepping out, he checked the numbers on plaques mounted on the walls and turned to the right, heading all the way down the hallway to the second to the last door.  It was open, so he stepped inside.

          Chris lay in the small bed, his eyes still closed.  The symphony of beeps and whirs continued, unbroken.  Vin sighed and walked over to the side of the bed.  Reaching out, he took Larabee's hand in his and gave the lip fingers a tender squeeze.

          Without really thinking about it, he began to sing softly.

 

_You know our love was meant to be,_

_The kind of love that lasts forever,_

_And I need you here with me,_

_From tonight until the end of time._

_You should know, everywhere I go,_

_You're always on my mind,_

_In my heart, in my soul._

_You're the meaning in my life,_

_You're the inspiration._

_You bring feeling to my life,_

_You're the inspiration._

_Wanna have you near me,_

_I wanna have you hear me sayin',_

_No one needs you more than I need you._

_And I know, yes I know, that it's plain to see,_

_We're so in love when we're together._

_And I know that I need you here with me,_

_From tonight until the end of time._

_You should know, everywhere I go,_

_You're always on my mind,_

_In my heart, in my soul._

_You're the meaning in my life,_

_You're the inspiration._

_You bring feeling to my life,_

_You're the inspiration._

_Wanna have you near me,_

_I wanna have you hear me sayin',_

_No one needs you more than I need you._ [8]

 

          Chris blinked and opened his eyes, staring up blearily at the sniper.  "Vin…?"

          Vin quickly wiped his eyes.  "Hey, Cowboy, how y' feelin'?"

          Larabee frowned, trying to remember where he was and how he had gotten there.

          Recognizing the confusion, Vin said, "You're in the hospital.  Summit."

          "Hospital?"

          "Y' got shot," he reminded the blond.  "Doc says you'll be fine."

          Larabee continued to frown, but the pieces began to fall into place – Lina, Salazar, the shooting, his rescue…  "Anybody else get hurt?"

          Vin shook his head.  "Everybody's fine – except the bad guys."

          Chris nodded, remembering that Lina Marcario had turned out to be one of the bad guys as well.  Her choice, wasn't that what Vin had said?  And it was true.  "Owe you an apology," he said thickly, remembering that as well.

          Tanner shrugged and glanced away.

          "Thanks."

          "For what?" Vin asked, confused.

          "Saving my life," Chris said, the dull throbbing ache in his thigh beginning to penetrate the fog in his brain.

          Vin nodded, still not meeting Larabee's eyes.  "Just doin' my job."

          "Like always," Chris said softly, his eyes closing, face pinching with the escalating pain.

          Tanner reached over and pressed the button on Larabee's IV, delivering a dose of pain medication to the man.  "M' job's keepin' you 'n' the others alive."

          Larabee managed a tight grin, his eyes slitting open.  "Not taking orders, huh?"

          That prompted a grin from Tanner.  "Depends," he said.

          "Depends?"

          "Whether the order helps keep y' alive or not."

          "Should've known," Chris mumbled, his eyes falling closed again as the drug hit his system, erasing the pain and pulling him back into a healing sleep.

          "Yeah, y' should've," he whispered, reaching out to tenderly cup the side of Chris's face.  "'M not gonna let y' get yourself killed, Larabee, not if I can stop it.  Need y' too much t' let that happen.  Love y' too much."

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

**2 June 2000**

 

          The rest of the week was filled with questions, debriefings, and paperwork for Team Seven, but by Friday morning the dust had settled or cleared, several DEA, CIA and FBI agents having been taken into custody, all of them on the payrolls of either Salazar or Anzar.  And Team Seven had another round of commendations to add to their personnel folders.

          "Thank God it's finally over," Ezra said, leaning back at his desk when he'd finished his last bit of paperwork.

          JD looked around at the men, then grinned and added, "So, I guess we're on for tomorrow night, right?"

          "Damn straight we are, kid," Buck replied, then lobbed a pencil at Vin, asking, "Right?"

          The sniper glanced up, looking more than a little tired.  He had faced some of the worst grilling at the hands of the higher ups from all the agencies involved.  Some had wanted to know why he'd fired at all, others wanted to know why he hadn't fired sooner.  There was no pleasing everyone.  And Chris hadn't been there to watch his back either, still in the hospital for most of the debriefings.  But at least he was out now, even if he was forced to walk with a cane.  "Reckon so."

          "Hey, we can't let the rest of the ATF down," Nathan offered.

          Tanner offered a thin smile in response to that.  "Ain't sure I give a damn 'bout the ATF right now, but I sure as hell don't want the FBI or the Marshals winnin', not if we can help it."

          "That's the spirit," Buck replied, grinning.  "You just wait 'til you hear what I picked for this round."

          "No matter what it is, I assure you, it isn't going to get Miss Recillos into your bed," Ezra told him.

          The ladies' man wagged his eyebrows.  "You never know!"

          The others just smiled or shook their heads.  With Buck, hope sprang eternal.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

**3 June 2000** **, Saturday night**

 

          Inez smiled as she watched J. Watson's fill with the competitors and their supporters.  Her original pool had dropped from fifty-four to twenty-seven, well, twenty-six, one of the Denver PD competitors unable to make it.  His wife had given birth on Wednesday morning and he took leave to be with her and his new daughter.  So tonight they would be thirteen rounds to see who would move on to next phase of the competition, where the remaining thirteen competitors would be winnowed down to a final winner.  It was all rather exciting.

She smiled as Team Seven entered the bar and took over the table she had marked as reserved for them.  On each table, and along the bar, she had left sheets of paper with the pairings for tonight's competition.  Members of Team Seven would be appearing in rounds two, four, six, seven, eight and ten, and she was looking forward to hearing each and every one of them.

          After a rather slow start by the first two singers, JD and one of the FBI agents took the stage.  JD went first, diving right into his song and rocking the house with the popular tune by Journey.

 

          _Any way you want it_

_That's the way you need it_

_Any way you want it… **[9]**_

 

          The FBI agent who followed gave a stirring rendition of "God Bless the USA," making the decision a difficult one for the judges.  In the end, the FBI man squeaked into the next round by one vote.

          "You did good, kid.  That feeb just didn't play fair," Buck told JD, seeing the disappointment on the younger man's face.  Casey was also offering him her support, which, Wilmington knew, would probably make up for the loss better than his own words ever could.

          Ezra was the next of the team to perform, his partner the last of the US Marshals left standing after the first go-round.

 

          _Watch the sunrise on a tropic isle_

_See the pyramids along the Nile_

_Just remember, darlin', all the while_

_You belong to me… **[10]**_

 

          Once again the ladies in the audience watched the undercover man's performance with rapt attention.  The poor Marshal didn't stand a chance, and Ezra smiled and nodded his thanks to the judges when they passed him into the third round.

          Josiah was up next, in the sixth spot, and he graciously allowed a pretty Asian FBI agent to go first.  She wowed the audience with her rendition of a Backstreet Boys hit and the big profiler knew he was beat before he began, but it didn't matter.  The event was supporting a good cause, and he was enjoying himself.  He was confident that one of the others, most likely Nathan or Vin, would win the competition, and that was just fine by him.

          Still, he took the mike and nodded, launching into an obscure song he enjoyed, hoping his listeners did as well.

 

          _We rise again, in the faces of our children,_

_We rise again, in the voices of our song,_

_We rise again, on the waves out on the ocean,_

_And then… we rise again… **[11]**_

 

          "That was real nice," Vin said as Josiah sat down and the profiler could see in the man's eyes that he meant it, that the song had touched him.  That didn't surprise the big man; there were surprising depths to the man, strong feelings that ran deep.  He just hoped Larabee realized one day that some of them were for him.

          "Thank you, brother," he said, "but it appears my run is up."  A moment later the judges proved him right.

          "At least Ezra's still in the competition," JD said, trying not to sound disappointed, but he couldn't quite pull it off.

          "You forgot about me, kid," Buck told him, trying to look more confident than he felt.  All the weak singers had already been eliminated, so the competition this time around was much more dangerous.

          JD rolled his eyes.  "Guess we'll just have to wait and see," he told his friend and roommate.

          "That we will," the ladies' man agreed.

          Buck was up next, and he was grinning as he took the mike first.  As he had in the first round, the ladies' man shielded his eyes for a moment and searched the crowd to find Inez.  Once he had, he nodded he was ready and launched into his song as the music started.  And, just like before, a wave of laughter rolled through the audience when they heard what the infamous womanizer had chosen.

 

          _As a young boy my mama used to make me walk the line,_

_But even then as now women were a weakness of mine…_

_I guess I was 'bout thirteen when this feeling came over me,_

_I started learnin' how to talk the girls out of their virginity…_

_Mama you can't give me no whippin'_

_Just for stayin' out all night…_

_Mama I think I've got something that the girls like_

_Mama I think I might have something that the girls like… **[12]**_

 

          There were hoots from the men and smiles and shaking heads among the women listening.  Buck grinned and handed over the mike, scampering over to rejoin his teammates at the table.  As he passed Inez he gave her a slight bow and suggested, "You might like it too."

          She just tried not to smile and shook her head.

          Buck's competition, a short, balding DEA analyst took up the baton, belting out a Michael Crawford tune that had Ezra's eyes closing with joy.  Needless to say, he handily won the round.

          Buck frowned as he watched the man accepting the congratulations from his fellow agents.  He shook his head.  "Voice like that… ought ta be criminal to put it a package like that."

          "You're just mad 'cause you got beat," JD told him, looking a little smug.  If he wasn't going to the third round, he was glad Buck wasn't either.

          Raine clapped her hands excitedly as Nathan rose and headed to the stage.  She blew him a kiss for good luck and crossed her fingers.

          "Don't think you need to worry," Chris leaned over and told her.

          She smiled back, saying, "I hope not."

          Nathan waited until his opponent finished a solid performance of John Denver's "Sunshine on My Shoulders," then took the mike and stepped up into the lights.  A moment later he was rocking with Madonna's "Cherish," singing it to the woman he was engaged to be married to.

 

          _Cherish the thought_

_Of always having you here by my side (oh baby I)_

_Cherish the joy_

_You keep bringing it into my life (I'm always singing it)_

_Cherish your strength_

_You got the power to make me feel good (and baby I)_

_Perish the thought_

_Of ever leaving, I never would… **[13]**_

 

          When he was finished the couples on the dance floor groaned their disappointment, but they allowed him off the stage.  He hurried back to the table, getting a kiss from Raine when he sat down.

          "Great job!" Casey said.

          "Brother, you have a gift," Josiah told him, "a real gift."

          "I think we have a winner," was Buck's comment.

          "Sure do," JD agreed.

          "And the odds are shifting in our favor," Ezra added, looking more than a little pleased.

          A moment later there was wild applause at the table when the judges agreed with the team's assessment.

          That just left Vin, who was singing once again at the end of the round.  And, just as they had seen it happen in the first round, the members of Team Seven once more watched a transformation take place as Vin began his ballad, the rawness of the words touching every listener in the Saloon.

 

          _My one and only prayer is that some day you'll care_

_My hopes, my dreams come true, my one and only you_

_No one will ever know how much I love you so_

_My only prayer will be some day you'll care for me_

_But it's only make believe…_

 

          Josiah watched Vin carefully his time, noting where he looked and where he didn't as the song continued.

 

          _My hopes, my dreams come true, my life I'd give for you_

_My heart, a wedding ring, my all, my everything_

_My heart I can't control, you rule my very soul..._

_My hope, my prayers, my schemes_

_You are my everything, but it's only make believe…_

 

          And Josiah knew that he'd been right.  The possibility shook him to the core, but it didn't bother him, not the way he had thought it might.  In fact, it seemed… right when he stopped and really considered the possibility.

 

          _My one and only prayer is that some day you'll care_

_My hopes, my dreams come true, my one and only you_

_No one will ever know how much I love you so_

_My only prayer will be some day you'll care for me_

_But it's only make believe… **[14]**_

 

          Glancing over at Ezra, the big profiler thought that, maybe, the undercover man might be thinking the same thing he was.  But even if he was right, if they were both right, what could they possibly do?

          Josiah's gaze shifted to Larabee, who seemed to be enjoying the song, but there was no recognition in his eyes, no understanding that Vin was singing the song to him.  He frowned slightly.

Inez had come over to watch and she was standing just behind and to Larabee's right.  Could Vin possibly be singing to her?  It would be easier to think so, but he just didn't.  His gut was telling him that Tanner had sung this song, and the last one, to and for Chris.

"Wow," JD said as Vin slid into his seat.  "That was… amazing."

"I thought you hated country," Buck said, scowling at Dunne.

"Yeah, well, that didn't sound like country."

"Your range is impressive," Ezra added, making Vin blush.

"Just a song," the sniper mumbled.

"A very well done song," Josiah corrected him.

"Very," Nathan and Raine said in unison, then laughed.

Chris offered Vin a small smile, to let the sniper know he'd liked it without embarrassing the man any more.

"What do you mean it didn't sound like country?" Buck demanded.

JD rolled his eyes.

          Tanner's competition took her turn at the mike, doing a fairly good job with an old Beach Boys tune, so it was clear that the gender line was no longer in place.  But her song, while playful and fun, was nowhere near as powerful as Vin's had been and the judges made Tanner the third member of Team Seven to be passed on to the third round.

          There was a slight intermission to give the thirteen singers who would be performing again a chance to grab something to eat, and Inez time to put their names into a hat, compliments of Station 12, and began pulling them in pairs.

Unfortunately for one of the DEA agents who had made it unto the third round, his beeper went off, letting him know that the bust he had been working was about to go down.  He was forced to forfeit the round.  Inez was actually glad that call had come in, since she'd been unsure how to handle the odd number of competitors.

          The remaining twelve men and women went over to tell the man working the karaoke machine what their next selections would be, and the gathered crowd settled in to watch and to listen.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          Raine drew in a deep breath and smiled her encouragement to Nathan as he stood up from the table.  The first two competitors had battled it out with a pair of Alan Jackson songs, a DPD officer just squeaking past the second-to-last member of the FBI team.

          Nathan's competition was a sheriff's deputy, and a member of a special multi-agency task force that had been set up for fugitive retrieval.  She was tall and slender, her blonde hair cut short to keep it out of her eyes.  She went first, giving them a stirring performance of the mega-hit from the movie _Titanic_.

          Nathan knew she had touched the crowd when we saw several people wiping their eyes, including Ezra and Raine.  But he couldn't change his selection now, so he took the mike from the woman and stepped up onto the stage.  He was greeted by applause, which both surprised him and made him a little more hopeful.

          The music started and he launched into his next song with all the joy and enthusiasm he could muster.

 

          _…Just like a prayer, your voice can take me there_

_Just like a muse to me, you are a mystery_

_Just like a dream, you are not what you seem_

_Just like a prayer, no choice your voice can take me there… **[15]**_

 

          It only took a few moments before there were people dancing and, as soon as he saw that, Nathan relaxed, enjoying the song and singing for the sheer fun of it.

          The judges debated a little longer than usual, but the votes were handed in, and Nathan sagged with relief as he survived another round.

          "You are _hot!_ " Buck told him, giving him a slap on the back.

          "Very well done," Ezra added as he stood and headed for the stage.

          For his part, Nathan was a little out of breath, which wasn't helped when Raine grabbed him and gave him a long, lingering kiss.  The rest of the team laughed, then turned their attention to the undercover man.

          Ezra's opponent was another DPD officer, a Latino, and he went first, belting out a show tune from _The Man of La Mancha_.  The audience clapped and cheered afterward and Ezra worried that he had made a strategic error, picking another sedate yet challenging song for this round.  But it was too late to change it now, so he accepted the mike and took to the stage to do his best with the old classic.

 

          _That certain night_

_The night we met_

_There was magic abroad in the air_

_There were angels dining at the Ritz_

_And a nightingale sang in Berkeley square… **[16]**_

 

          The applause for Ezra wasn't as enthusiastic as it had been for the DPD officer, and he returned to his seat, resigned to his fate.

          "That was pretty impressive," JD said when Standish sat down.

          "Yes, but my timing was off."

          "No way you could've known what Sergeant Ortega would pick," Chris told him.

          "Still…"

          The judges debated longer than expected, but when the votes were counted, Ezra found himself squeezed out by a single vote.  "That's life," he said, glad that he had placed his money on Nathan and Vin, rather than himself.

          The next pair included the last of the FBI agents and another sheriff's deputy.  The two women each chose Linda Ronstadt songs, the FBI agent eking out a victory with her version of "Cry like a Rainstorm, Howl like the Wind."

          When Vin stood and headed for the stage, Ezra leaned over to Josiah and asked softly, "Am I mistaken, or have you also decided that Mr. Tanner has been attempting to communicate his ardor for Mr. Larabee with his selections?"

          Josiah flashed the man a toothy grin.  "That or he's wooing Inez."

          That caused Ezra's eyes to round slightly and he settled back to watch the unfolding drama, a slightly unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach when he considered the possibility.  Could he actually be feeling jealous?

          At the same time as that conversation took place, JD leaned in next to Buck and said, "I think Vin's in love."

          "What makes you say that?" Buck asked him, his dark blue eyes twinkling.

          "His songs, they're so… real," the younger man concluded.

          "Yep," the ladies' man agreed.  "I think we finally found us a place where that boy can't hide."

          "So he _is_ in love?" JD asked.

          "Been thinkin' along the same lines myself."

          "Who is it?" JD asked him.

          Buck's eyes danced with devilish merriment.  "What, you haven't figured it our yet?"

          "Figured what out?" JD asked him.

          Raine leaned over and whispered into JD's ear and his eyes flew open wide.  Casey giggled.  "You can be so slow, JD," she scolded him.

JD just looked from Vin to Chris and back again, then turned his attention to Buck and Casey, both of whom nodded, grinning like fools.

          JD's mouth opened and closed a couple of times, but then the music started and he shook his head and leaned back in his chair to listen.  Vin in love with Chris?  Now that _wasn't_ what he'd expected.  Not that there was anything wrong with a man loving another man, if he was gay.  And maybe Vin was gay, but JD was pretty sure Chris wasn't, although he decided his boss might be a bisexual.

          Casey snuggled next to him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, deciding it didn't really matter what Chris or Vin was, as long as they were happy.  And if they were happy with each other, well, then more power to them.

          Seeing JD and Casey, Nathan wrapped his arm around Raine's shoulders and pulled her in, kissing her on the cheek and asking, "What did you say to JD?  He looked like he's been pole-axed or something for a second."

          She smiled up at him through her eyelashes.  "Nothing…  Well, just that Vin was in love… with Chris."

          Nathan blinked and almost shook his head to clear his ears, but he knew he'd heard her just fine.  "Vin.. and Chris?"

          She nodded and smiled innocently.  "Isn't it sweet?"

          Nathan's mouth opened and closed, and this time he _did_ shake his head.

          "It's about time Chris got on with his life," she whispered into his ear.  "They'd be good for each other.  Just hope Chris figures that out, and soon.  Poor Vin must be pretty frustrated."

          _They'd be good for each other…_ Nathan didn't really hear what came after that.  But he couldn't argue with it.  He and the others all knew how close the two men were…  Glancing over at Larabee, he grinned, then leaned in and gave Raine a kiss.

          "Question is," Raine said into his ear as the music began, "how long _is_ it going to take Chris to figure it out?"

          Vin's competition was the last member of the Colorado State Patrol team.  She went first, opting for an emotional ballad, "Song for Sarajevo," that Judy Collins had written and recorded.  The piece was moving, and left many in the audience in tears, including most of Team Seven.  Then the sniper took the stage.

          Inez, seeing that Vin was almost ready, made her way over to the table Team Seven was sharing with Casey and Raine, and took up a position at the back of Chris's chair.  "Can I get you anything?" she asked them over his shoulder.

          They all shook their heads or answered in the negative, and by then Vin had started his song so she felt safe staying there until he'd finished.  She'd noticed how it must have looked the last time, when she'd been standing close to Chris's chair while Vin had been singing.  The least she could do was give him a little cover this time as well.

          Vin had noticed it too, and while it scared him that Inez must have figured out his feelings for Larabee, he was grateful for the illusion she created, since it meant he could throw more of himself into the song without arousing suspicions.  At least he hoped it did.

 

          _So you choose to look the other way_

_Well, I've got something to say_

_Don't try to run, I can keep up with you_

_Nothing can stop me from trying, you've got to…_

_Open your heart to me, baby_

_I hold the lock and you hold the key_

_Open your heart to me, darlin'_

_I'll give you love if you, you turn the key…_

_Open your heart with the key_

_One is such a lonely number…_

_Ah, ah, ah, ah,_

_Open you heart I'll make you love me_

_It's not that hard, if you just turn the key…_

_Don't try to run I can keep up with you_

_Nothing can stop me from trying, you've got to…_

_Open your heart I'll make you love me_

_It's not that hard, if you just turn the key…_

_Open your heart to me, baby_

_I hold the lock and you hold the key_

_Open your heart to me, darlin'_

_I'll give you love if you, you turn the key… **[17]**_

 

          Chris sat, listening to the song, his foot keeping time with the beat as he enjoyed Vin's performance.  He never would have guessed that the man could open up like that when he was up on stage.  The transformation was amazing, and he found himself wishing that they saw more of that Vin on a day to day basis.

          But, as the song progressed, a sense of unease began to settle over him.  He knew Inez was still standing behind him, and he could swear Vin was singing the song directly to _her_.  He glanced around the table at the others, finding them all smiling.  He frowned slightly, unsure why he didn't feel happy for Vin.  The man was too much of a loner, if he'd finally fallen in love, well, shouldn't Chris be happy for him?

          So why didn't it make him happy?

          His thoughts were scattered by the eruption of applause at the end of the song.  And, a few moments later, Tanner was sliding into his chair, looking again like all he wanted to do was disappear.

          "Nice job, Vin," Nathan said.

          The sniper ducked his head and grinned.  "Guess we like some of the same songs... 'n' singers."

          Nathan nodded, grinning.

          "Sounded good," Josiah said, giving Vin a light pat on the back.  He hadn't realized that they had been respecting the man's space and not congratulating him as much as they had the rest of them, and he didn't want the man to think that they didn't appreciate his talent.

          The judges conferred and, a few moments later Vin was promoted to the next round.

          The final two competitors performed their songs, and while the judges voted, Inez took the opportunity to ask the patrons if they wanted to continue, or wait until next week to finish the competition.  The overwhelming response was to continue.  So, with six competitors left, they headed into the home stretch.

          The four men and two women were treated to a free round of cold beers before they went up to make their next selections.

          A hush fell over the crowd as Inez arranged the names.  Nathan was up first against the DPD officer, who over-reached, performing Josh Groban's "You Lift Me Up."  Nathan felt himself relax, knowing he was going to take the round.

Stepping up to the mike, he smiled, hoping that Raine knew he was smiling at her, then launched into his next choice.

 

          _…Brush away the tears of freedom_

_Now we're here, there's no turning back_

_We have each other_

_We have one voice_

_Hand in hand we will lay the tracks_

_Because the train is coming to carry you home_

_Come dance with me_

_Come on and dance into the light… **[18]**_

 

          Once again, the end of Nathan's song was met with thundering applause and he received loads of congratulations from the rest of the team when he sat down at the table.  The judges swiftly passed him into the final round.

          The next two performers battled it out with more show tunes, Sergeant Ortega making it onto the finals.  The DPD officers exploded into cheers, and the poor Sergeant nearly choked when one of the men pounded his back a little too hard while he was draining what was left of his beer.

          That just left Vin and the remaining female singer, a DEA agent.  She went first, doing a good job with Madonna's "Vogue," but it was clear that her voice was feeling the strain of overuse.

          Chris felt himself stiffen when Vin took to the stage after her, his heartbeat picking up.  He could feel the butterflies in his stomach, but that made no sense.  Why was he feeling anxious?  It was Vin who should be nervous, not him.

          He glanced around and wasn't surprised to find Inez back, standing between him and Ezra, one hand on the back of each of their chairs.  That sent a rush of jealousy coursing through his veins that took him by surprise.  And, as Vin began to sing, Chris realized for the first time that his feelings for Vin ran deeper than he'd ever suspected.

          He reached down, rubbing at his still-aching thigh and wondering what in the world he could _do_ about his newly recognized feelings, especially if Vin had fallen in love with Inez.  But, as he listened to the words Tanner was singing, each and every one of them hauntingly raw, he also realized that Vin wasn't singing to Inez after all, he was singing to _him_ , telling Larabee how he'd feel if things had gone wrong in that old warehouse.  And that realization rocked Larabee to his very soul.

 

          _How do I get through one night without you?_

_If I had to live without you,_

_What kind of life would that be?_

_Oh and I, I need you in my arms_

_Need you to hold,_

_You're my world, my heart, my soul._

_If you ever leave_

_Baby you would take away_

_Everything good in my life._

_Without you, there'd be no sun in my sky._

_There'd be no love in my life._

_There'd be no world left for me._

_And I, baby, I don't know what I'd do._

_I'd be lost if I lost you._

_If you ever leave,_

_Baby, you'd take away_

_Everything real in my life._

_And tell me how…_

_How do I live without you?_

_I want to know._

_How do I breathe without you?_

_If you ever go._

_How do I ever, ever survive?_

_How do I, how do I_

_Oh, how do I live?_

_If you ever leave._

_Baby, you would take away everything._

_Need you with me._

_Baby, 'cause you know that you're_

_Everything good in my life._

_And tell me now,_

_How do I live without you?_

_I want to know._

_How do I breathe without you?_

_If you ever go._

_How do I ever, ever survive?_

_How do I, how do I_

_Oh, how do I live._

_How do I live without you, baby? **[19]**_

 

          It was hard for Chris to draw a breath.  He knew the last assignment had rattled Vin, but he hadn't truly appreciated just how _much_ it had upset him.  But maybe he should have.  After all, he'd seen the pain and worry in Vin's eyes when he'd awoke to find the sniper standing at his bedside in the hospital.

          And Tanner's words returned to him, the last thing he had heard as he'd drifted off to sleep: _"'M not gonna let y' get yourself killed, Larabee, not if I can stop it.  Need y' too much t' let that happen.  Love y' too much."_

Why the hell hadn't he remembered that?  He should have gotten a clue then how the man had felt.  Hell, earlier.  Every song Vin had sung in this competition had been a clue; every glance, every concerned appraisal for the last twenty-eight months had all been clues.  How the hell had he been so blind?

But he knew how.  He hadn't seen it because he hadn't expected to be able to fall in love again.  He'd given Sarah his heart, and it had died with her, and Adam.  But, somehow, Tanner had given it back to him again, and he knew he couldn't waste this opportunity.  Few people were so richly blessed twice in their lifetimes.

          Cheers and stomping accompanied Vin back to the table and there was no doubt in anyone's mind that the man was going to the final round.  The judges quickly confirmed that opinion.

          "That was too good," JD enthused as Vin sat.

          "Junior, you've been holding out on us," Buck said, grabbing Tanner's arm and jerking him closer.

          "What?" Vin yelped.

          "You aren't good, kid, you're great!" the ladies' man said, giving him a one-armed hug.

          Vin tolerated it, but then pulled away.

          Chris wanted to tell Tanner what he thought, too, but he couldn't find his voice.

          Inez spared him, walking over to the stage and climbed up, holding up her hands to ask for their attention.  As soon as the noise level dropped, she said into the mike, "All right, we have our final three competitors!  It has come down to the ATF versus the Denver Police Department…"  Loud cheers and hooting interrupted her for several moments, then faded when it was clear she had more to tell them.

          "After conferring with the judges earlier, we have decided to run the final round a little differently.  The judges are selecting at random one of the four songs that each of these fine gentlemen has performed to get him to the final round.  They will be asked to give us a repeat performance of one of those songs.  Each judge will then score the performances on a scale of one to ten.  The man with the highest score will be our winner and will receive the trophy."

Dr. Longknife walked over and handed her a slip of paper.

          "Okay, here are the songs…  Nathan Jackson, ATF, 'Cherish.'  Sergeant Danny Ortega, Denver PD, the number from _Man of La Mancha_.  And, Vin Tanner, ATF, 'Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me.'  Good luck, gentlemen!"  And with that said she hopped down and hurried back over to the bar.

          Nathan stood and walked to the stage, giving them another enthusiastic performance of the song.  He knew it wasn't the strongest of the four numbers he had picked, but he put all of his feelings for Raine into it and knew he would be happy, no matter what the final outcome was, because he could see she knew he was singing from his heart – for her.  He received a score of 67.

          Sergeant Ortega took the stage and put his heart into the challenging song as well.  Unfortunately, the slight coughing fit he'd endured earlier had strained his voice and the performance wasn't nearly as good as it had been the first time around.  The judges gave him a final score of 65.

          And that just left Vin, who looked over at Nathan and stuck out his hand.  "I think y' ought t' win this thing," he told him as they shook.

          "Well, I think it ought to be you," Nathan replied.  "Just sing from the heart, that's the only way to do it," he added, and Vin had the uncomfortable feeling Nathan knew exactly who it was he was singing to and for.  He hurried to the stage so he wouldn't have to think about that for too long.

          With the mike in his hand, Vin did what he always did whenever he sang, be it in his shower, his rattle-trap jeep, or on a karaoke stage.  He took a deep breath, reached down into the center of himself, and opened the cage to all the feelings he kept so carefully hidden away, letting them take flight in his dreams, even if he knew they would never be realized.  Still, it was the only way he could keep the feeble hope alive, and that, in turn, kept him alive.

And, before he knew it, he was singing…

 

          _Come out, come out,_

_To the hopeless romantic inside._

_Shout it's all right, all right,_

_To stay so dark_

_So close to the light… **[20]**_

 

          The song was over before Vin consciously realized it, and the patrons in the Saloon were cheering.  He ducked his head, handed the mike back to the man who had run the program for them, and quickly retreated back to his chair to await the judges' decision.

He glanced over at Nathan, who gave him a thumbs-up, his eye just catching Chris's as he did.  Something in Larabee's expression didn't seem right and he turned his head slightly to meet the blond's gaze, but before he could say anything, Mary Travis announced, "The cumulative score for Agent Tanner is… Sixty-eight!  We have a winner!"

          Vin was enveloped by the members of his team, all of them pounding on him, hugging him, shaking him…  He was almost overcome by a surge of claustrophobia, but then they released him, lifting their glasses to him, and to Nathan, who had taken second place.  Other agents, officers and deputies came by, offering their congratulations to the two men as well, and Chris began harassing his counterparts from the federal building.

          "Ladies and gentlemen!" Inez called from the stage and the loud buzz in the bar subsided.  "I just wanted to thank all of you for making this first competition a huge success, and to let you know that we raised over three thousand dollars for Quest Academy!"

          The patrons cheered and the vice-principal from the alternative school stepped up to offer his thanks and receive a check.

          Inez took the mike back and said, "The mike is now open!  Do I have any takers?"

          Chris pushed to his feet.

          "Mr. Larabee?" she questioned, more than a little surprised.

          Chris walked over to the man who ran the laptop and asked him a question.  He checked the database and nodded.  Turning to Inez, he said, "I'll give one a go."

          There was a smattering of applause, but with the competition over some of the patrons had already headed to the back room where the pool tables were, while others had slipped into the dining room to grab a bite to eat.  But the members of Team Seven stayed in their seats.

          "I'll be damned," Buck said, shaking his head.  "I never thought I'd see the day…"

          They watched Chris huff out a nervous breath, and then he began to sing.

 

          _Love, you used to burn like fire_

_You'd lift me up, and then you'd take me higher._

_There were times I thought I knew you well,_

_My how times change…_

_Dreams, I used to have my share of dreams,_

_But dreams come easy when somebody cares._

_It's been so long, sometimes it's hard to tell,_

_If I'm still in the game…_

 

          Vin sat, his entire body having gone rigid with fear.  Had Chris understood what he'd been doing?  Did he know he'd been singing for him?  Was this his way of letting him down easy, by telling him that he still loved his wife?

          He was close to bolting, but then Chris reached the chorus and a hope like none Vin had ever experienced felt before swelled in his heart, sending tears to sting his eyes.

 

          _I'd be the first to fall in love again…_

_If it ever comes my way, I'd know it well._

_I'd give my heart and my soul away,_

_And I'd be the first to fall in love again._

_Love, you were my closest friend,_

_But times get hard and precious moments end._

_That's not to say that I won't try again,_

_'Cause broken hearts mend._

 

          As Chris launched into the chorus again, Vin had to fight to draw a breath.  His chest felt like it was a huge, painful knot.  What if he was reading this all wrong?  He knew he couldn't bear to hear Chris reject him in spoken words.

 

          _I'd be the first to fall in love again._

_If it ever comes my way, I'd know it well._

_I'd give my heart and my soul away,_

_And I'd be the first to fall in love again. **[21]**_

 

          But something told him he didn't need to worry, even as another part couldn't help itself from doing just that.  He still wanted to bolt, to flee, but there was nowhere to go, nowhere Larabee couldn't find him.  No, better to stay and face the music now, and then, if he had to pick up and go on, knowing Chris could never return his feelings, then so be it.  Because, no matter what, he knew he couldn't walk away from the man.  He had given Chris his heart the moment he'd met him, and he'd never regretted it.  Friendship would just have to do, if love was impossible.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          The Saloon had emptied out, most of Team Seven having already left as well.  Nathan and Raine were headed home, JD was taking Casey home, and Buck had disappeared with the tall blonde from the fugitive retrieval unit.

          Ezra was sitting at the bar, talking with Inez, and Josiah watched them for a moment, hoping they were able to find the kind of happiness he was sure Chris and Vin were headed toward.  He stood, said his own goodbyes and then headed for the exit so the two men could, hopefully, get on with it.

Glancing over his shoulder, he caught Vin's eye and called, "Go get 'im, tiger."  He chuckled at the half-shocked, half-scared look the comment prompted.

          Chris glanced over at Vin, who hadn't said more than a word or two in the last couple of hours.  "What did he say?"

Tanner shook his head.  "Ain't sure."

"Well, guess it's time to call it a night, huh?"

          Tanner nodded.  "Reckon so."

          "You want to take a ride up to the ridge tomorrow?  See if any eggs have hatched?"

Vin grinned.  They had seen the pair of hawks building their nest a few weeks back, just as some of the trees had begun to leaf out.  He nodded, although he knew it would still be weeks before any baby hawks broke free of their shells.

          "You got your back-up in the jeep?"

          Tanner nodded again, he always a gym bag packed and ready in the Jeep, just in case.

          "Grab it and I'll drive.  This blasted medication's going to make me the designated driver for a few more days."

          Vin offered him a small smile, but he pushed to his feet.  He could drive just as easily as Larabee.  He'd only had two beers, and he'd nursed those over the course of several hours.  But it seemed the man wanted to talk, and there was no reason to put it off.  "Fine by me," was all he said.

          The two men stopped to say goodnight to Ezra and Inez.  The undercover man was looking a little stunned, but he managed to congratulate Vin on his victory and compliment Chris on his performance as well.

          "Next time I hope you'll be competing?" Inez asked the blond hopefully.

          Larabee smiled, leaning on the cane he was using to help spare his healing leg.  "Well, we'll see."  Then he glanced at Vin and changed his mind.  "Probably," he amended.

          "A boon for us," Ezra complimented.  "Although I doubt the other agencies will be willing to take us on again.  Pity, too."

          "Sure they will," Chris replied, his green eyes alight with merriment for the first time in far too long.  "They're gonna want to take us down a peg."

          "Well, then," Standish replied, "we will just have to hone our talents and show them who's truly gifted."

          Gifted…  Chris liked the sound of that.  He glanced at Vin, who was blushing slightly at the subtle compliment he'd been paid.  Well, he certainly felt gifted right now.  All that was left was to break the news to Tanner.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

**0115 Hours, Larabee's ranch**

 

          Chris pulled up and parked in his usual spot.  The two men climbed out, Vin carrying his gym bag.  They headed inside, Larabee checking the security system and then rearming it.

          Vin had gone on ahead to the guest room, dropping his bag onto the bed and opening it to pull out his shaving kit.  He took it and headed into the bathroom, brushing his teeth, leaving the kit on the counter.  Returning to the guest room, he undressed in the dark and pulled on a pair of soft flannel pajama bottoms, wondering if Chris was going to talk to him tonight, or wait for the morning.  He got his answer a few moments later.

          "We need to talk."

          Vin turned.  Larabee was leaning against the door jam, still dressed.  He nodded.

          "Give me a couple of minutes to get changed."

          Tanner nodded.  "Want me t' make some coffee?"

          Chris thought for a moment, then shook his head.  "Naw, just keep me up."

          Vin sat down on the edge of the bed in the guest room when Chris headed off down the hall, his limp more pronounced.  Then he pushed off and trailed after the man.  He paused at the door to the dark master bedroom, waiting for the blond to invite him in.  That invitation was quick in coming.

          "Don't have to stand there," Chris said as he tapped a button on his stereo system, soft instrumental music beginning to play in the room.

          "Reckon that depends on what y' got t' say."

          That prompted a smile from Larabee, just barely visible in the dim light that filtered in from one of the security lights on outside.  "First, I have a question."

          "Might have an answer," Tanner replied.

          "You singing to Inez, or to me?"

          There was a short silence, followed by a choked whisper:  "You."

          Larabee shook his head.  "Damn, Vin, I'm sorry."

          Tanner shrugged.  "It's all right…  Won't do it no more."

          Chris looked up.  "No, I mean I'm sorry I was so damn blind, so slow."

          That confused Vin.  "Didn't want y' t' know," he said.  "Weren't no reason…"

          Chris had laid the cane on his dresser and had sat on the edge of the bed to remove his shoes and socks.  Then he had stood and pulled off his flannel shirt and his undershirt, tossing them onto the back of his chair.  He stopped there, eyes meeting Vin's.  "Can I ask a favor?"

          Surprise crossed Tanner's face, but he nodded, saying, "Sure."

          "My leg's aching like a bitch, think you could help me?"

          Vin felt the blood drain from his face, apparently headed to a new location south of his bellybutton.  His mouth went dry and his skin began to tingle.  "Uh, yeah," he managed thickly, "sure."

          Chris unbuttoned his jeans and pulled them down, sitting on the edge of the bed again to pull them off completely.  He tossed those over to join the rest of his clothes, then stood, and without looking at Vin, pulled his covers down and climbed into bed.  It was warm enough in the room he didn't bother to pull the covers up, making sure that Vin had access to his leg.

          Tanner moved into the room, making his way to the bed and sitting down on the edge and reaching out to begin rubbing Larabee's calf, slowly working his way up to the thigh, being careful to stay clear of the bandage covering the entrance wound.  He was glad Larabee hadn't turned on a light and just hoped that his arousal wasn't as obvious as it felt to him.

          "Mmm," Chris said, "feels good…"

          "Y' mad?" Vin asked softly.

          "Mad?  About what?"

          "Me," was the almost whispered reply.

          "No, Vin, I'm not mad…  I meant what that song said.  I think I'm ready to fall in love again."

          "But you haven't… right?"

          "Think maybe I have… just hadn't realized it."

          "Kinda hard to miss…"

          "Depends."

          "Depends?"

          "On whether or not you think it can happen – I didn't think it could… but I was wrong."

          Vin swallowed hard.  "Y' sure about that?"

          "I'm sure, Vin."

          Tanner's hands continued to work, but he inched closer and closer to Larabee's groin, finally holding his breath and allowing his hand to brush lightly over it.  He sucked in a sharp breath when he realized Chris was as aroused as he was.

          "Mmm," the blond sighed.

          "Chris?"

          "I might be slow," Larabee told him, "but once I make up my mind… I'm good to go."

          "Y' are, huh?"

          "Well, not as good as I'd like, but good enough."

          Vin chuckled softly.  "Must be dreamin'."

          "No dream, Vin…  The dream's just getting started."

          Vin shifted, climbing onto the bed, his exploration beginning in earnest, his hands rubbing over Larabee's belly, chest, ribs, and hips.  He bent over, tongue laving over one hard nipple.

          "Ah," Larabee grunted, his back arching slightly in response to the stimulation.

          Vin smiled as he heard the first notes of an appropriate song beginning to play.  He began to sing softly as he continued to touch Chris, his fingertips exploring the man's body.

 

_You know our love was meant to be,_

_The kind of love that lasts forever,_

_And I need you here with me,_

_From tonight until the end of time._

_You should know, everywhere I go,_

_You're always on my mind,_

_In my heart, in my soul._

 

          Chris began to move under Tanner's arousing touch, his body seeking more stimulation, more contact, the words of the song, combined with what Vin's hands were doing, quickly leaving him hard and wanting.

 

_You're the meaning in my life,_

_You're the inspiration._

_You bring feeling to my life,_

_You're the inspiration._

_Wanna have you near me,_

_I wanna have you hear me sayin',_

_No one needs you more than I need you._

 

          Larabee lifted his hips, Vin taking advantage and carefully drawing his briefs down and off.

 

_And I know, yes I know, that it's plain to see,_

_We're so in love when we're together._

_And I know that I need you here with me,_

_From tonight until the end of time._

_You should know, everywhere I go,_

_You're always on my mind,_

_In my heart, in my soul._

_You're the meaning in my life,_

_You're the inspiration._

_You bring feeling to my life,_

_You're the inspiration._

_Wanna have you near me,_

_I wanna have you hear me sayin',_

_No one needs you more than I need you..._ [22]

 

          As the last words faded, Vin took hold of him, stroking him, rubbing his own leaking fluid over his shaft to make it easier.  Chris was moaning, his body shaking and jerking, over-stimulated.

          "Vin… please…"

          Tanner leaned over, tongue licking across the over-sensitive head of Larabee's cock.

          "Oh Christ," the blond gasped.  "Vin."

          Tanner kissed the tip, then began to lick over the glans, finally sucking the man into his mouth.

          "I'm gonna come," Chris warned, his hips pumping even though he didn't want to.  He wanted to make this last, but it had been so long, and his control was shot to hell.

          And, as Vin's tongue began to rub along the sensitive underside of his shaft, Chris felt his control slip away and he was coming, shooting into the man's mouth.

          Vin suckled him, provoking at least one additional surge of semen from his tingling balls.  "Oh God," Larabee gasped, his body buzzing.

          "Mmm," Tanner replied, licking Chris clean and then crawling up to lay down next to the man.  "Thank you," he breathed.

          "You're thanking me?"

          Vin grinned.  "I am."

          "Well, you're welcome, but I think it's me who should thanking you.  God, that was incredible."

          "Glad," Vin replied.  "Wanted it to be; been wanting to do that for so damn long…"

          "Oh shit," Chris said, his head rolling to the side so he could look at Vin.  "I didn't–"

          "Didn't have to," the younger man interrupted with a grin.  "Soon as y' started t' come, so did I."

          "You leave a wet spot?"

          "Probably," Tanner admitted.

          Larabee chuckled.  "Pull up the covers, maybe it won't get too cold."

          "Hope not," Vin said, grabbing the covers and pulling them up to cover them.  He snuggled up next to Chris, asking, "Your leg still hurt?"

          "What leg?"

          "Glad to hear it."

          Chris wrapped his arm around Vin and pulled him in closer.  "I should've seen it sooner, Vin.  Wasted a helluva lot of time…"

          "Wasn't wasted," Tanner told him.  "You're m' best friend, m' family.  This is… icin'."

          "That all?" Larabee asked, trying to sound a little hurt.  "Some say cake ain't cake without it, you know.  What do you say?"

          "That I feel damn lucky t' get cake, 'n' cake with icin' is a blessing."

          Chris smiled.  "Amen to that."

          "I love y', Chris.  Have since I met ya.  Guess I will 'til I die."  His voice caught and he couldn't stop the tears that sprang into his eyes.  "Y' could 'a died," he choked out.

          Chris hugged him tight.  "Yeah, maybe, but it didn't go down that way.  You didn't let it go down like that."  He turned his head, planting a tender kiss on the top of the man's head.  "I promise you'll never wonder if I love you again."  He could feel Vin smile a little shakily, and he pressed closer, basking in the closeness they were sharing.  Chris closed his eyes and allowed himself to do the same.  He hadn't realized just how alone he had felt, how _lonely_ , but now he knew, and he also knew those times were gone.  Sleep tugged at him, and he surrendered to it, knowing Vin would be there beside him when he awoke.  And when he did, he planned to make a few more wet spots…

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

**Sunday morning**

**0840 Hours**

 

          Vin leaned against the door jam, watching Chris as he lay, sleeping peacefully in the bed.  A lingering, pleasant heaviness remained in his balls and his heart felt like it was over-full with joy and love.  He had never expected this to happen, had never expected Chris to return his feelings.

He wasn't sure how he'd gotten so lucky, but he didn't really care.  All that mattered was that they were together.

 
    
    
      _When I see you in the morning_
    
    
    
      _With that old sleep still in your eyes_
    
    
    
      _I remember all the laughter_
    
    
    
      _And the tears we shared last night_
    
    
    
      _And as we lie here_
    
    
    
      _Just two shadows_
    
    
    
      _In the light before the dawn_
    
    
    
      _The sweetest thing_
    
    
    
      _I've ever known_
    
    
    
      _Is lovin' you…_
    
    
    
      
    
    
    
      _And I have never been afraid of losin'_
    
    
    
      _And I have never wanted love to be a chain_
    
    
    
      _I only know that when I'm with you_
    
    
    
      _You're my sunshine, you're my rain_
    
    
    
      _The sweetest thing_
    
    
    
      _I've ever known_
    
    
    
      _Is lovin' you…_
    
    
    
      
    
    
    
      _Now you and I_
    
    
    
      _We're not children_
    
    
    
      _We have both been loved before_
    
    
    
      _We have given and we have taken_
    
    
    
      _Many rides on troubled shores_
    
    
    
      _But all the heartaches and temptations_
    
    
    
      _Only made me love you more_
    
    
    
      _The sweetest thing_
    
    
    
      _I've ever know_
    
    
    
      _Is lovin' you…_
    
    
    
      
    
    
    
      _And I have never been afraid of losin'_
    
    
    
      _And I have never wanted love to be a chain_
    
    
    
      _I only know that when I'm with you_
    
    
    
      _You're my sunshine, you're my rain_
    
    
    
      _The sweetest thing_
    
    
    
      _I've ever known_
    
    
    
      _Is lovin' you_
    
    
    
      
    
    
    
      _The sweetest thing_
    
    
    
      _I've ever known_
    
    
    
      _Is loving you…_
      [23]
    

 

          When the softly sung song ended, Chris pushed himself up into his elbows, green eyes hooded with desire, a crooked grin on his face.  "Damn, Tanner, you're nothing but a romantic."

          "Reckon I c'n live with that," was Vin's reply as he stalked toward the bed.

          "Hungry?" Chris asked him.

          "Starved," he replied, climbing in under the covers, his mouth finding Larabee's.  The kiss was long and passionate, leaving both men breathless when they parted.

          "What do you want for breakfast?" the blond asked when they did.

          "Got all I need right here," was Vin's reply.

          Chris chuckled.  " _All you need is love…_ " he sang, then began working on breakfast.

 

The End, for now!

  


* * *

[1]  Mel McDaniel, "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On."

[2]  Forthcoming story by Michelle Fortado ("All in a Day's Work").  See _A Small Circle_ _of Friends #12_ debuting at Media West in May 2006.

[3]  Frank Sinatra, "The Way You Look Tonight."

[4] Doobie Brothers, "The Doctor."

[5]  Kenny Loggins, " Danger Zone."

[6]  Juice Newton, "Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me."

[7]  Brooks and Dunn, "Good Girls Go to Heaven."

[8]  Chicago, "You're the Inspiration."

[9]  Journey, "Any Way You Want It."

[10]  Dean Martin, "You Belong to Me."

[11]  Aselin Debison, "We Rise Again."

[12]  Gary Morris, "Mama, You Can't Give Me No Whippin'."

[13]  Madonna, "Cherish."

[14]  Conway Twitty, "It's Only Make Believe."

[15]  Madonna, "Like a Prayer."

[16]  Harry Connick Jr., "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square."

[17]  Madonna, "Open Your Heart."

[18]  Phil Collins, "Dance into the Light."

[19]  Trisha Yearwood or, if you prefer, Leann Rimes, "How Do I Live?"

[20]  Juice Newton, "Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me."

[21]  Gary Morris, "I'd be the First to Fall in Love Again."

[22]  Chicago, "You're the Inspiration."

[23]  Juice Newton, "The Sweetest Thing I've Ever Know."

 

**Author's Note:**

> Here are some "sounds like" voices for each of the Seven as a way to indicate the potential depth, range, and power of each man's voice. Hopefully none of these singers is too obscure.
> 
> Chris = (Gary Morris) Rich, with lots of power and range; introspective. His voice is its most powerful when singing about love and loss. He is the most reluctant to sing or dance in public, but gives in graciously. He tends to pick country and Top 40 tunes.
> 
> Vin = (Josh Groban) He has one of those "where the heck does this amazing voice come from in a man this size?" voices. It's rich, powerful, and clear. Vin always sings straight from his heart, and from any genre that says what he needs to say at the moment. Needless to say, Chris and Vin (or any pairing you prefer) should duet beautifully, especially in a slash world. :-)
> 
> JD = (Fred Small or Steve Perry, if you prefer) Solid, good range, very emotive; his voice is slightly more mature sounding than he looks. JD can rock and roll the easiest, a la the lead singer for Chicago or Journey, and has a soft spot for the old glam rock tunes. He uses pop or rock, rarely country, so he often teases Buck about Wilmington's song choices, although he sometimes falls back into 90s boy band lyrics himself, and hears about it from Buck!
> 
> Buck = (Mel McDaniel, with a little Garth Brooks, Jimmy Buffet and Elvis) Rich, smoky, and playful, but with the ability to put a lot of emotion into whatever he sings. He tends to pick self-reflexive songs, love songs, and playful songs; usually country or older Top 40 tunes.
> 
> Josiah = (Conway Twitty or the baritone from the Oak Ridge Boys) He has a larger range than might be expected given his size. He sings with lots of power, and has the ability to hit the low notes without being an actual bass. Gospel music and hymns are his favorites, but he also uses folk songs (US and old English) as well as 60s protest music, and "old time" rock and roll (50s and 60s) as favorites.
> 
> Nathan = (Luther Vandross with a touch of Phil Collins) His is a silky, deep (but not a bass) voice that is more textured than expected. He will almost always pick an upbeat, hopeful song (he's in love with Raine and happy after all!), but he also favors socially aware music when appropriate. R&B, Top 40, light jazz, and an occasional guilty dabble into disco, for which he gets teased by the others.
> 
> Ezra = (Harry Connick Jr. with a large dash of Michael Crawford) The key word here is "versatile." Ezra's the most flamboyant performer of the group, but he does a low-key croon wonderfully well – think "makes your toes curl!" Older standards are his favorites (Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, etc.), or something with "class and sophistication," never rock or country if he can possibly avoid it, although he will venture in the occasional Top 40 or light jazz realm – he'd duet really well with Norah Jones or KD Lang. He's also the go-to man for dramatic show tunes (Les Miz, Cats, Phantom, etc.), especially paired with Vin and/or Nathan, who can also pull off those kinds of songs.
> 
> Naturally, the supporting cast is also able to sing and to dance – Orin Travis, Mary, Inez, Raine, Casey, and Miss Nettie, as well as any bad guys and/or gals. All should have solid voices, but should not able to show up the Seven. However, in a het-flavored world the female significant other would be the vocal equal of her man. Male villains should usually have wonderful bass voices, and female villainesses a cold soprano .
> 
> Oh, yeah, and in a gen-flavored world, our heroes can break into song even while on their deathbeds, but we don't recommend the dancing… Tripping over your IV pole would just be too embarrassing! Okay, that's enough from me! Hope you enjoy the story, and the AU!


End file.
